Permanent Wound
by soccergurl382
Summary: After befriending Fiona Gallagher, Tessa gets thrown into the chaos of the Gallagher household. After being alone for so long, Tessa isn't sure how to handle this family. Then she falls into step with Lip Gallagher and she isn't quite sure what to make of him, and vice versa. Can Tessa successfully adapt to the Gallagher lifestyle? Lip/OC
1. ONE

**A/N: Hello all! This is going to be a Lip/OC story because quite frankly, I'm disappointed by the lack of Lip/OC stories floating around! I'm making this up as I go along, but I'm sure once I get back into my groove things will come to me a lot easier.**

Tessa glanced over at the small boy next to her, excitement evident on his face. She knew it wasn't smart to groom his love of dangerous things, but this was semi-safe and it brought a smile to his face; that's all she cared about.

"You know," she began. "If you do well in your science classes, you'll be able to do things like this every day in class. And you won't even get in trouble." Tessa shot him a pointed look with a grin upon her face.

Carl's face lit up at the idea. Maybe she had created a monster. "Really?" He asked, excitement in his voice.

She nodded her head. "And I'll do this with you until you reach that point, but you have to listen to Fiona. She has a hard enough time as it is. Okay?" Tessa knew getting Carl to behave was far from likely, but it didn't hurt to try. And if she could bribe him with explosions then she would.

A defeated sigh escaped his lips. "Fine," he sighed.

They walked into the middle of the field and Tessa sat down on the ground, pulling a few things from her bag. He sat down next to her, watching her intently as if he was trying to memorize her every move.

As she was putting the materials together Tessa glanced up at Carl every so often to see his face. "So I'm like, 75% sure this won't blow up in our faces," Tessa told him.

Most children would elicit fear at such a sentence, but not Carl. If at all possible, his eyes grew with excitement.

Tessa had put most of the ingredients in the bottle before coming to the field with Carl, but she pulled out the last ingredient to put inside the bottle. She screwed off the top of the bottle and handed it to Carl to help. "Okay now once I put this stuff in here, I want you to put the cap on and shake it really fast."

Once that was done Carl began shaking it like it was the only thing he was good at. Tessa stood up quickly. "Okay Carl place it down, cap up."

He did that and looked up at her. "Now what?"

"Run!" She yelled, laughing and running away from the bottle. It wasn't dangerous but it wasn't necessarily safe to be that close to the bottle either.

They got far enough away and Carl turned, standing next to her with a grin on his face. A moment later the bottle exploded, sending bubble foam and smoke into the air. It wasn't fire like most explosions Carl liked to set, but it had still made him excited.

"That was awesome," he said. "But next time we should make it explode fire."

She rolled her eyes and ruffled his hair. "Alright little pyromaniac, let's get going."

They didn't bother to pick up their mess and neither of them really cared. They walked back to her car and got inside. Tessa handed Carl the big can of pringles she had bought them and he continued to finish off the can.

They drove in silence while Carl finished off the can of chips, but once he was done he began to talk about a kid he had shut inside a locker during gym class. She tried not to laugh, but she couldn't help it. She knew it was only encouraging his behavior and she knew his behavior had caused a big mess at school not too long ago.

"Carl, I thought you promised Fiona you would behave so that you could stay with your family?" Tessa had heard all about the parent-teacher conference that hadn't gone so well. Fiona had been furious when Frank had shown up for Karen Jackson but not his own son. She couldn't blame her and was just glad her father was out of the picture completely.

He rolled his eyes. "They just make it too easy sometimes," he complained. In his mind, this was a valid excuse. Instead of continuing the conversation Tessa kept driving and it wasn't long until she pulled up in front of the Gallagher house.

Before their little experiment, she had worked with Carl on his homework at her place. She had promised him the science experiment as a reward for finishing his homework. She was sure this was the first time all of his homework had actually been completed.

"Thanks Tessa!" Carl yelled as he got out of the car and slammed the door shut, running up the front steps and going into his house.

Tessa had met Fiona through one of their oddball day jobs not too long ago. They had instantly clicked which was nice to say, considering Tessa hardly got along with girls around the same age as her. Fiona was a few years older and Tessa had only just gotten her GED.

Tessa's main job was working at a shitty diner that should have been shut down by the state by now. She was one of five waitresses there and her boss was a fat Chinese dude who was unbelievably annoying. The only waitress she got along with there was Sam; the others Tessa just tolerated.

Tessa texted Fiona letting her know that Carl's homework was done and that she owed her a beer.

She drove towards the diner to pick up the second half of one of the other waitress' shifts. It was her day off and while she would normally ignore any phone calls from the diner, she needed the extra cash.

"Bitch, what are you doing here?"

Tessa looked over at Sam as she walked into the diner. She glanced around to see that there was only one table filled and they were a couple of old ladies; not that Sam would have cared either way.

She rolled her eyes and walked out back, knowing that Sam would follow her. "Picking up the rest of Rachel's shift," Tessa explained. "Because you know, she left about ten minutes ago."

Sam leaned against one of the counters out back and crossed her arms over her chest. "No, I wouldn't know. She doesn't work so it's like she's never here anyways."

Tessa grabbed her uniform from her bag and walked into the walk-in-freezer so that she could quickly change. Tessa could hear Sam talking but it was all muffled from the large door separating them.

"What?" She asked, walking back out, tying the apron behind her waist.

"I said," Sam exaggerated. "What are you doing after this?"

Tessa shrugged and put her hair up into a pony-tale. "I might go see Fiona. I haven't seen her in a while."

Sam rolled her eyes. "Oh right. Your new girlfriend."

Tessa scoffed. "Don't be jealous that I found another person to hang out with. I can't stand to see your face all the time."

"Let's go pretend to work so John doesn't yell at us. Or…try to yell at us." Sam laughed and Tessa mirrored her expression.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Tessa walked up the back steps of the Gallagher household after receiving a text from Fiona telling her to use the back.

She tried to open the door and balance the four pizzas in her hands at the same time, hoping that she didn't drop them. The diner sure as hell didn't serve pizza but Sam and Tessa had gotten bored and made the pizzas themselves since there was no one in the diner. Of course, their homemade pizza boxes were more than questionable.

Pushing the door open with her back Tessa walked into the kitchen only to be met by the confused expression of two boys, probably not far from her age.

"Who the fuck are you?" One of them asked.

Tessa opened my mouth to speak but someone interrupted her. "Tessa!"

She grinned as she saw Debbie run through the living room to meet her in the kitchen. "Fiona here yet?" Tessa asked her as she placed the pizza boxes on the kitchen table.

"Yeah she's just changing," Debbie said as she began to open one of the boxes.

Tessa looked up at the two boys who were still giving her odd looks. "I'm the chick who brought pizza," Tessa said before turning and running up the stairs to find Fiona.

"Fi?" She called out. She had only been to her house once and had never been upstairs. Tessa knew that she lived with all of her siblings so she didn't want to go barging into someone else's room.

Tessa saw her poke her head out of her room and smiled when she saw her. "Hey Tessa. What's up?" She asked.

Tessa shrugged and followed her back into her room, sitting down on her bed as she rummaged through her drawer to find a shirt.

"Nothing. Work sucked. I brought pizza. Two of your siblings were giving me the hairy eyeball."

Fiona slipped a shirt over her head. "Oh sorry. That's probably Ian and Lip."

She made a weird face as she tried to understand the name Lip. That was strange.

She followed her back downstairs and they saw four of her siblings digging into the pizza Sam and Tessa had made.

"What's up with these boxes?" Carl asked.

She laughed and shrugged her shoulders. "Homemade. Once we eliminated the boxes without rat turds in it, it was quite the interesting process."

Fiona reached over and grabbed a slice. "Right so Lip and Ian, this is my friend Tessa from one of the jobs I worked a few weeks ago."

"Yeah, she let me blow something up today," Carl said with a mouth full of pizza.

"Wait, you were serious?" Fiona asked with a concerned look on her face.

Tessa leaned against the wall and shrugged her shoulders. "Got his homework done, didn't I?" She challenged her, raising a brow.

Fiona rolled her eyes at her and took a bite of her pizza.

The two older boys grabbed a second slice before leaving the kitchen. "Thanks for the pizza," the one with the red hair said. She was pretty sure that was Ian.

Once they were upstairs Tessa looked to Fiona with a grin on her face. "I think they like me," she said sarcastically.

Fiona shook her head. "Lip's just going through some shit – not that I would know what it is. Don't pay him any attention."

Tessa shrugged, not actually bothered by the brush off. She wasn't hungry so she didn't bother eating any pizza. Sam and Tessa had gotten a little carried away with the pizza, but at least they would have leftovers for a while.

"I think Veronica and I are going out tomorrow night. You in?" She asked. Tessa hadn't met her friend Veronica but with how things had just gone with her two brothers, she wasn't too excited about the idea.

"Sure," she said slowly.

Debbie and Carl grabbed another slice and went into the living room so they could watch TV and Tessa saw her youngest brother sitting on the couch with a bottle.

"You weren't kidding when you said you had a lot of siblings," Tessa noted with a chuckle.

Fiona nodded and sat down at the table. "Yeah. You're telling me. I'm just glad that I've only got one left in diapers."

Yikes. Tessa didn't even want to think about how expensive that must have been. Then again, everything was probably expensive with six people living in one house. Well, maybe even seven since Fiona said sometimes her alcoholic father showed up but he'd been staying elsewhere recently.

"So," Tessa said, a grin slowly appearing on her face. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a joint. "Want to get high?" She asked.

Fiona grinned. "I thought you'd never ask."

 **A:N/ So I know that nothing really happened, but I'm trying to get some foundation down for the story. This will probably be a slow burn with Lip and Tessa, since it will take a bit to have him get over Karen once that whole fiasco happens. I would really appreciate any reviews or even favorite this story so I know people are interested. Thank you!**


	2. TWO

**A:N/ Sorry the last chapter was so boring! This will be starting at the beginning of season two. I realized how much I don't want to write out all of the Monica drama and then the stuff with Karen going all emo on us. Besides, summertime is so much more fun to write!**

A few days passed since Tessa had met the rest of the Gallagher clan and it was officially Friday. Normally she would be excited for Fridays since she made good money, but Fiona had convinced her to go out with her and her friend Veronica. They loved to go clubbing and while part of Tessa wanted to pass on the opportunity, the other part told her to try to have some fun.

So Tessa found herself standing on the front porch of the Gallagher house. Fiona had shot down her attempt to let them know she would meet them at the club and insisted that Tessa come over. She said that getting ready was half of the fun. Tessa supposed she would have to take her word for it.

Tessa had some of her make-up done but her hair was up in a bun since she decided to curl it once she got to Fiona's. However, she was in her dress and quite glad that it was summer and not the freezing winter that Chicago was known for. She knocked on the door and waited, shifting her purse so that it sat on her shoulder comfortably instead of half falling down.

The door opened and Tessa was met with the bored expression of Lip Gallagher. "Oh look, you knocked." His sarcasm was tangible.

Tessa pushed past him, not in the mood for dealing with one of Fiona's asshole siblings. What had she ever done to Lip to cause him to be so foul with her? Tessa hadn't seen him since that first night she met him and Ian.

Once Tessa was in the living room she noticed that neither Carl nor Debbie were downstairs and she wondered if they were even home; not that it mattered. "Did I do something to offend you?" Tessa asked, turning to give Lip a questionable look.

Lip pulled a cigarette from behind his ear and lit it with a lighter that he had stashed in his pocket. "Look, we don't need your charity. Alright?"

Charity? What the fuck was he talking about? She had given Carl or Debbie a ride a few times, but he hardly considered that charity.

"Oh my god," Tessa scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Do you mean the fucking pizza?" A bitter chuckle escaped her lips. "I work at a diner and we get leftover food all the time. We throw it out so why the hell wouldn't I grab it and bring it to my friends?" Granted, the pizza had been made by Sam and Tessa but the ingredients were still perishable. Who knew how long they had already been there.

"Besides, I didn't see you complaining about my _charitable_ pizza the other day," she pointed out.

Lip rolled his eyes, clearly not impressed by her answer.

Tessa was glad that Debbie and Carl weren't around, because my swearing often got out of hand whenever she was angry. Her anger was one of her fatal flaws, that much she would admit. But that didn't mean she had it under control.

"Okay, how about next time I bring food over you just don't eat it?" Tessa scoffed and turned on her heel, heading upstairs before she found myself trying to punch Lip.

She walked into Fiona's room to find her doing her hair and Tessa flopped down onto her bed. "Your brother is an asshole."

She laughed and looked over at her while she continued to flat iron her hair. "I'm going to assume you're talking about Lip. Yeah, sorry, again. He's been acting weird. I think he and his girlfriend broke up."

Tessa sat up and shook her head. "You know what he said to me? That you guys don't need my charity." She didn't care if this was considered tattling. Fiona was her friend and Tessa wanted to vent to her friend. It was a mere coincidence that the asshole was her brother.

Fiona raised a brow. "What the fuck?" She asked.

"I know!" Tessa threw her hands in the air, exasperated already. She did not want to go out tonight.

"Look, I'll be the first to agree with Lip that the Gallaghers don't do charity. And I would have shot you down if you had been some PTA mom coming over with a baked lasagna, but you work at a diner and if you bring over food from time to time you won't find me complaining. If it keeps Carl from trying to eat bugs, then I'm happy."

She had to laugh at Fiona's words and crossed her legs over one another. "Thank you," she said. "I like your family and if I can do something to make one of them happy, then I'm going to do it." Tessa made sure there was no room for an argument there.

"You got Carl to finish his homework. That means I don't have to take off work so that I can go in and talk to his teacher and principal. Again."

Tessa knew that Fiona had a hard time taking care of the kids and being so young herself, but Tessa admired her for what she did and how strong she was. She had taken care of herself for a long time and while she had been on her own, she still had a hard time doing just that.

She almost brought up Steve and how he had bought her that minivan one time, but she quickly reminded herself that he was an especially sore subject since he had recently taken off. She had never met the guy but Fiona had talked about him one night when they had gotten wasted. People weren't lying when they said alcohol was like truth syrup.

"I like your dress," Fiona said. Tessa was thankful for her trying to change the subject.

Tessa glanced down at the dress she was wearing. It was grey with some black and stopped around mid-thigh. She didn't go out dancing a lot but this was one of her favorites dresses she had bought on a whim and had stuffed in the back of her closet.

"Thanks, I like yours too." Tessa thought Fiona was a very pretty girl, even when she had no make-up on and had been running around doing four jobs. She had that natural beauty about her and for that, she was forever jealous.

"Fi are you ready to go?" A voice called from the hallway and made its way into Fiona's room.

She had never met her before but Tessa was guessing that she was Veronica. She shot Tessa a weird look before looking back at Fiona.

"Oh right. V this is my friend Tessa, Tessa this is Veronica from next door," Fiona introduced them.

"Hi," Veronica said with a forced smile before she turned her attention back to Fiona.

Why did none of these people like her? Tessa hadn't done anything wrong and Fiona was an extremely nice person. Maybe this was just one of those tight knit families where strangers were always frowned upon. Maybe Tessa needed to dial back on the amount of time she spent with Fiona.

"No," Fiona said with a laugh. "I have to finish my hair and do my make-up! Besides, I made Tessa leave her hair so that I could curl it for her."

This was not helping her situation with Veronica. Tessa kept her eyes on her hands just in case she shot another venomous look her way.

She groaned and left the room, giving no explanation for where she was going.

Fiona finally finished using the flat iron on her hair and she stood up. "You're hair looks great." Fiona never did her hair and it was mostly thrown up in a pony-tale whenever Tessa saw her.

"Thanks, now scoot to the end of the bed." Tessa did as she was told and Fiona stretched the flat iron so that she could kneel behind her and do her hair.

"You can curl my hair with that?" Tessa asked. She knew it could be done but it wasn't something she had ever learned. She had her curling iron in her bag too.

"Yeah," she said with a laugh.

They finished getting ready and Veronica didn't make another appearance. Fiona said she might have gone next door to her house, but doubted it since her husband Kev was out working at the bar.

They walked downstairs and much to Tessa's dismay, Lip was sitting on the couch with Veronica passing a cigarette back and forth while they watched something on TV.

"Alright," Fiona began. "Debbie and Liam are staying at Sheila's tonight and Carl is at a friend's house." Carl had friends? Tessa thought he mostly beat people up. "Lip, you good here?"

Lip glanced back as Fiona and Tessa descended the rest of the stairs. His eyes lingered on Tessa for a moment before nodded at Fiona. "Yeah. Might go out later with Ian." He turned his attention back to the TV, reaching out to grab the cigarette back from V.

Veronica stood up and they left the Gallagher household. Fiona wanted to take a cab or the subway so they could drink, but Tessa had already driven to her house so she offered to drive. She hadn't planned on drinking too much since Tessa did have work tomorrow. She couldn't handle customers while hung-over, let alone her boss.

Once they got to the club they went inside and ordered some drinks. The three of them sat down at a table, V hadn't really said anything to Tessa in the car, and Veronica asked Fiona how her daycare was going.

"Pretty good. Carl and Debbie are old enough now where I can come home from my job late at night and they can handle the kids until the parents come to pick them up," Fiona said.

The two of them caught up while Tessa sat there, nursing her drink and glancing around the club. The lights were bright and the music was loud. She didn't really understand how Fiona could do this every weekend for fun.

Someone elbowed her and Tessa was torn from her thoughts. Fiona had an odd expression on her face.

"What?" Tessa asked.

Fiona laughed. "So you weren't listening."

She shrugged. "It's kind of hard to hear in here," she explained. "Why? What were you saying?"

"I was talking about opening the pool since it's nice to have, especially with the daycare. I asked if you wanted to come over when we opened it." Fiona had a smile on her face and Tessa nodded her head.

"Sure, so long as I'm not working," she said. "And if I'm getting off a shift I can steal from food from the diner. Make it a pool party," Tessa said with a laugh. She shot Fiona a wink and she laughed at her. Either Fiona was in a great mood or the alcohol was starting to get to her.

Fiona excused herself to use the bathroom, which left V and Tessa alone. She could practically taste the awkwardness in the air.

"So, how's the foster kid doing?" Tessa asked, attempting to make conversation. Fiona had told her about Veronica and Kevin taking in a foster kid so that they could earn some extra cash.

She shrugged and took a sip of her drink. "She's fine. Weird, but fine."

Tessa nodded and glanced down at her drink. "Fiona told me she had a kid. I'm not sure how old he is, but the state gives you more money if the kids are under a certain age," she pointed out. Tessa just hoped Veronica wouldn't give her a hard time about butting into her business or Fiona telling her too much.

"Really?" V asked. This appeared to have caught her attention.

"Yeah," Tessa began. "It's sort of a double-edged sword. The younger ones usually go quicker for adoption but they are more expensive to take care of, hence the state paying you more. My friend took in foster kids and I remember her telling me about it. If you officially take her kid in, that would be some extra money." Crap. Tessa hoped she wouldn't think she brought this up because she was under the assumption she needed the extra money.

"Thanks," she said slowly. It was as if Veronica had read her mind when she thought about assuming she needed money.

Fiona returned just in time to fill the awkward silence between the two of them and she began to talk about one of the many jobs she worked.

The rest of the night was fun. They danced and drank and Veronica seemed to warm up to her, even if it was just the alcohol affecting her. When it was time to go they got back into Tessa's car and went home. She was buzzed but good enough to drive (not that driving buzzed was okay).

She pulled up outside Fiona's house and the girls got out. Veronica waved to both of them before walking down two houses to get to her own place. Fiona stuck her head back in the car. "You want to crash here? You shouldn't be out there driving."

Tessa only lived twenty minutes away but Fiona was appealing to her needs. She was tired and didn't actually feel like driving anymore. But she also didn't want to be a burden and knew she had to be to work by noon tomorrow (not that she was afraid of sleeping in until noon).

As if she could sense her hesitation, Fiona spoke up again. "The kids aren't here. Ian and Lip are maybe, but even then they may not be home."

Sighing, Tessa nodded and turned off her car and followed Fiona back inside her house.

"The couch is all yours," she said. "Or you can sleep in Deb's room if you want."

Tessa shook her head and sat down on the couch. "The couch is fine," she said. She had always felt strange about sleeping in other people's beds without them or without them knowing. She knew Debbie wouldn't care, but she was fine with the couch.

Fiona tossed some blankets her way and placed her hands on the back of the couch. "Need anything else?" She asked.

Tessa shook her head. "No I'm fine. I know where the bathroom is and the kitchen is right there. Don't worry about waking me up in the morning, I won't be mad or anything." Tessa chuckled and she mirrored her response. She knew getting to sleep in was often too good to be true.

Fiona said goodnight and went upstairs to fall asleep. It didn't appear that Ian or Lip was home, so Tessa settled down into the couch and tossed a blanket over her body. Normally she would have a hard time falling asleep somewhere new, but she was so tired that it came easy.

Tessa woke up quickly when she felt someone touch her legs. She jerked up and saw darkness but was quickly blinded by light once someone turned one of the lamps on.

Lip.

She sighed and glanced at the time. She had only been asleep for a few hours.

"Jesus Christ," Lip swore. Perhaps he had tried to sit on the couch, unaware that it was currently occupied.

"Nope, just me," Tessa deadpanned as she let my head fall back onto the pillow.

She couldn't see him but knew Lip was rolling his eyes. "Original."

"Why are you here?" He asked. _Charming as always_ , Tessa thought to herself.

She sat up again, letting out a huff of annoyance. "Because Fiona didn't want me driving home."

Lip nodded, satisfied with the answer and he walked over to sit on the chair near the couch. "So that's your car out front?" He asked.

She gave him an odd look. Tessa immediately pictured him trying to break into it or defacing it somehow. It was a pretty crappy car but it worked. "Yes," she said slowly.

He laughed. An actual laugh left the lips of Lip Gallagher in her presence. "I'm not going to steal it," he said, practically reading her mind. "I just didn't know who was parked in front of our house. It'll be fine. It's not a Lexus or anything."

Tessa snorted and rolled her eyes. "Thanks," she muttered.

She could see Lip begin to fidget and she wondered if he was craving a cigarette. She found them gross but Tessa could always tell when someone was a smoker. Sighing, she reached towards the table near the couch and grabbed her small clutch, pulling out a joint.

"Not that I owe you one, but how about a little peace offering?" Tessa said, holding up the joint with a raised eyebrow.

She couldn't read his expression but he walked over and sat down on the couch. Luckily she had moved her legs quickly enough to make sure he didn't sit on them. Again.

"Yeah, don't take it personal," he began. "We're just not used to strangers around here."

She guessed that was as close to an apology she would get from him, but she was too tired to care.

"Fair enough," she mumbled, handing him the joint seeing as she didn't have a lighter.

He quickly lit up and inhaled, holding his breath for as long as he could. He let the smoke fill the room and handed Tessa the joint.

"That's pretty good shit," he said, still slowly exhaling.

Tessa took a hit and nodded her head. She exhaled quicker than he did. She was too tired to try to hold it in as long as she normally did. "Yeah, there's a dealer in my apartment complex and he hooks me up pretty nicely."

Lip took the joint back and nodded. "We've got a little ice cream truck set up where we sell joints and stuff like that," he explained. "Makes a profit."

They passed the joint back and forth, making small talk as they did.

"Fiona invite you over this weekend for when we open up the pool?" He asked. Tessa couldn't say she wasn't surprised by his question. Why did he even care?

"Mhm," she hummed. "Why? You going to throw a fit if I bring some food from the diner?" Tessa challenged.

He grinned and she was glad. She didn't know if he had just lightened up or if it had been the weed, but she didn't care. Lip laughed and snatched the joint from her fingers, not bothering to answer.

 **A:N/ First of all, I have no idea if the thing about younger kids getting you more money in foster care. I highly doubt it but it's something I thought of to make conversation between V and Tessa. Please bear with me, as I'm still getting a feel for these characters. Also, there is a picture on my profile of Tessa's dress from this chapter. What do you guys think? Reviews or favorites get me to update. No fun writing if no one is enjoying!**


	3. THREE

**A:N/ I want to let you guys know that I'll be switching to writing in third person from now on. First person used to be my favorite but it wasn't really doing it for me anymore. And after getting a review that just so happened to comment on the POV, it sort of solidified by decision. I realized that I probably won't get people liking this until I've got a few more chapters up. I know I usually avoid stories that only have one or two chapters up because I'm usually looking for something to entertain me a little longer. Anyways, here's the next update. Favorites, Reviews, and Followers are appreciated!**

Lip and Tessa had talked for an hour or so before he said goodnight and went upstairs. The weed had done a number on her and she passed out not too long after. Work had been hell that day but she had dealt with worse hangovers. Today Fiona had invited her over for opening the pool. Tessa was just finishing up her shift and putting things aside to bring to Fiona's when Sam walked into the back.

She rolled her eyes and tossed her pad of paper on the counter. "I'm going to spit into that woman's food," she snapped, crossing her arms across her chest.

Tessa laughed and continued to get things together. "What did this one do?" she asked.

"This bitch starts going off about gluten free shit then basically only ordered a kale salad. Gluten free? This place is still selling food from the 90's!" Sam exclaimed.

"It's not like this is a fancy restaurant," Tessa pointed out. She could never understand some of the people that walked into this diner. This place was awful, but their chef wasn't as horrible as the previous one had been.

"Please," Sam scoffed. "This place isn't even a restaurant. It's a shithole that pretends its food is edible."

The thing Tessa loved about Sam was her sarcasm and hate for people. That was probably why they got along so well; they understood one another. But sometimes Sam could go too far and would get pissy whenever Tessa called her out on it.

She laughed and shook her head. "Well I'm afraid you'll be in this shithole by yourself for the rest of the day. I'm heading out," Tessa said.

Sam rolled her eyes. "Going to your new bestie's house?"

"Don't be jealous," Tessa scoffed. "You mock, but you would like Fiona."

Another eye roll from Sam. "I doubt it."

Tessa ignored Sam and finished putting food away, wanting to get it done before their boss came out back to yell at them.

"Well I'll see you later," Tessa said, grabbing the bag of food and glancing over at Sam who was intently looking at her nails.

Sam hummed in response and Tessa left, knowing that was all she would get from Sam.

Tessa pulled up outside the Gallagher house and grabbed the food. She walked inside, not bothering to knock. The living room was filled with kids and her eyes went wide. Fiona wasn't kidding when she mentioned the insane daycare she had Debbie and Carl running.

"Aren't their parents coming to get them soon?" Tessa asked Debbie. She held onto the food, not wanting the children to get to the food.

Debbie glanced at the clock. "Crap! Yeah can you watch them while I got wake Fiona?" Debbie asked.

Tessa glanced around and noticed that one of the kids was locked up in a dog crate labeled time-out. "Carl, let him out of the crate!" Tessa said. The parents did not need to walk in on this.

She walked into the kitchen and placed the bag of food on the table. "Don't touch that," she pointed to Carl who had been eying the bag.

"It's for later," Tessa added. Carl nodded and went back to trying to make sure the kids appeared to be okay before the parents came to pick them up.

Tessa looked around, unable to find the youngest Gallagher. "Where's Liam?" Tessa asked to no one in particular.

"Upstairs with Fiona," Debbie said as she came down the stairs.

Tessa gave Debbie an odd look. "Frank stole Liam the other day and pawned him off so she's been pretty hesitant about letting him out of her sight." Debbie sounded defeated and I bet that she felt responsible for whatever had happened to Liam. Tessa made a note to ask Fiona about it later.

Fiona came downstairs and briefly said hello to Tessa before she started to run around to make sure things were good for when the parents came. A moment later the parents started to pour in and pick up their kids.

Veronica barged in the back door and sighed. "I need your help. Bring the kids." She disappeared as quickly as she had arrived.

Fiona and Tessa exchanged glances before they gathered up the kids and followed Veronica to the Alibi.

"Jesus," Tessa swore under her breath. She had no idea how many plants were down there, but it was a crazy amount.

"Right?" Veronica scoffed. "We need to get rid of it. Start pickin'."

Everyone grabbed some tools and began to pick the weed from the plants. "What are you going to do with it all?" Tessa asked.

"Throw it away," Veronica said with a sigh.

Lip walked in with Kev and frowned. "Hey V, think we could keep some to keep the truck stocked all summer?" Lip asked.

Another sigh escaped Veronica's lips. "I guess so. But no more than an ounce on the truck at a time!"

Tessa looked up to see Fiona giving V a pouty lip and it appeared Veronica caved again. "Alright sure. It's the least we can do for you guys helping out. Tessa, you can take some too obviously."

A little surprised by the direct use of her name, Tessa nodded her head. "Thanks. It'll save me from having to deal with my creepy ass neighbor to get some good shit." Kev had gone on and on about how excellent this stuff was, thanks to Ethel's worms.

Tessa looked up to see Lip start to work near her and she couldn't help the gasp that escaped her lips. "What the fuck happened to you?" She asked.

"Oh uh. One of my guys backed out of a fight so I had to step in," Lip explained, not even phased by her question. She was sure that he had been getting asked about what happened a lot.

She pursed her lips and nodded, not wanting to freak out over how bad his face looked. She went back to her work and listened to the small chatter in the room as she did.

Once they were done they stuffed the plants into garbage bags and loaded them into the back of Kev's truck. Everyone took their share and then looked at the rest.

"What about the rest of this?" Fiona asked.

Kevin sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Tessa saw an idea light up in his eyes and she raised a brow, waiting for him to explain. "I've got an idea. Neighborhood bonfire anyone?"

They cheered at his idea and even Veronica managed to smile at him.

Everyone went their separate ways, trying to get ready for probably the best bonfire they would ever see. Tessa climbed into her car with Debbie, Carl and Liam in the back, and Fiona sitting in the front with her.

"You bring food, we bring weed," Fiona said with a grin.

Tessa laughed and nodded her head. "I guess so. Although I don't think the amount of food I brought is enough for the amount of people I think will show up." She wasn't even sure it would be enough for them, considering how Lip, Ian and Carl ate.

"We'll eat before."

"What did you bring?" Carl piped up from the back.

Tessa glanced back at him in the rearview mirror before answering. "Uhm I grabbed some burgers, buns and French fries. There might be some miscellaneous things in there too. I didn't want my boss to walk in on me so I was kinda in a rush," Tessa explained.

Debbie, being the polite kid that she was, offered Tessa her thanks.

"Yeah, thanks," Fiona said. "I can't eat anymore mac and cheese." Fiona chuckled and Tessa shrugged.

"It's not like I'm buying it," she pointed out. She wanted to remind Fiona that this wasn't charity. "Although I guess I would consider this a great service to the people that go to that diner, taking away what food they might consider eating."

"But we're eating it," Debbie pointed out.

Fiona and Tessa laughed and nodded their heads. "True. But you guys are tough. You can handle a little mold, right?" Tessa joked.

Debbie scrunched up her nose in disgust and Carl nodded his head with a mischievous grin on his face.

"I'm kidding," Tessa said, attempting to reassure Debbie. "I checked for mold before I put it in the bag, obviously."

Tessa pulled up to the Gallagher house and everyone climbed out of her car. Once inside, Fiona placed Liam down on the couch and Debbie and Carl sat on either side of the toddler, turning on the TV.

Fiona pulled the bag of food out of the fridge and the two of them began to get things together so they could all eat. Although, now that Tessa thought about it, she was sure that they would probably all have the munchies _after_ the bonfire.

Lip walked in through the back door and Tessa expected him to make another comment about the food she had brought but he didn't. He sat down on one of the stools on the other side of the counter they were working at.

"Ian still at work?" Fiona asked, looking up from the hamburger buns for a moment.

"Yeah," Lip said. "I'm gonna go see if Karen wants to come. I'll be back in a few."

Fiona raised her brow and Tessa didn't miss the exchange between the siblings.

"Is Karen your girlfriend or something?" Tessa asked.

"Not really," Lip said. "Yeah, so, she's hanging out with this tool named Jody now," Lip said to Fiona, practically ignoring Tessa. "Met him through her sex addicts anonymous group. The dude's like, forty."

Fiona shrugged. "Maybe you should stay away from that then. You know I'm not exactly a fan."

Tessa was dying to ask Fiona what had happened with Karen. She was nosey but didn't care. This sounded like a good story and she did not want to pass up the opportunity.

Lip flipped Fiona the bird before walking out the back door.

"So this Karen," Tessa began. "What's her deal?"

A sigh escaped Fiona's lips. "Some shit went down between her and Lip not too long ago. They were screwing around and then Karen ended up snapping and fucked Frank. Screwed Lip up real bad. But you know boys, they always pretend like nothing can hurt them," Fiona explained.

Tessa nodded and knew exactly what Fiona was talking about. "Yikes," she said. She shivered at the idea of Lip sleeping with the same girl his dad had fucked.

Fiona and Tessa began to cook the burgers and Tessa put the fries into the oven to cook. They went back and forth from the kitchen to the living room, watching bits and pieces of TV and going to check on the food.

Once the food was ready, Fiona yelled for the kids to come sit down to eat. Lip walked in about five minutes later and Tessa could tell he was in a foul mood.

"No Karen?" Fiona asked. Tessa could hear the smugness in her voice. She must have really not liked Karen.

"She's going out with Jody tonight," he muttered. She could see him trying not to snap at being rejected, but Tessa knew it was only a matter of time.

Fiona dropped the subject and they all sat to eat the burgers and fries Tessa had brought. Lip grabbed his food and went upstairs to eat, even after Fiona had told him to eat with them. Ian walked in once they were finishing up and grabbed a burger and fries. He seemed like he wasn't in the best mood either, but he was still friendly.

"How was work?" Fiona asked as she began to clean up the kitchen.

Ian shrugged. "Kash left today," he said. Tessa had no idea who Kash was but his departure had obviously upset Ian.

"I thought Linda was pregnant?" Fiona asked.

Ian nodded and took a bite out of his burger. "Yeah. I'm sure things won't go over so well when she realizes he took off."

Tessa raised her eyebrows in surprise but kept cleaning while she listened to the conversation between the siblings.

"Jesus," Fiona swore under her breath.

Ian devoured the rest of his burger and fries and wiped his mouth with a napkin. "I'm gonna go help Kev unload everything. Can you tell Lip to come help when you see him?"

Fiona nodded and Ian left out the back door.

"Do you mind going up and grabbing Lip?" Fiona asked. Her hands were wet from the water and soap she had been using to wash the dishes.

Tessa really didn't want to interrupt Lip when he was in a bad mood, but didn't want to say no to Fiona over something stupid.

"Sure," she said, getting up from her chair and heading up the stairs.

"Last room at the end of the hall," Fiona called up to her.

Tessa found the room quickly but was hesitant about going into the room. The door was open but that didn't mean she felt weird about barging in on Lip.

"Uh, Lip?" Tessa asked, finally taking a few steps into the room.

It was small and had three beds. She was guessing Lip, Ian, and Carl all slept here. She was surprised it didn't smell worse.

"What?" He asked. Tessa looked up to see him peering at her from the top bunk.

"When you're done Ian said to come help him and Kev unload the truck," she said.

He nodded and it seemed like their conversation was over.

Sucking in her breath, Tessa climbed a few steps of the ladder so she could see Lip.

"Forget about Karen," she began. "She's fucking lame if she's going to give up a bonfire made out of pounds of weed."

Lip glared at Tessa. "You don't know Karen," he snapped.

Instead of backing down like she might normally, Tessa pursed her lips and shook her head. "Stop being a dick and come downstairs. You can whine over this bitch later." Tessa jumped down from the steps and left the room.

She couldn't believe she had just said that to Lip. He was right, she didn't know Karen and it really wasn't any of her business. But she found it annoying that Lip was going through mood swings over this girl.

Fiona looked up when Tessa came back downstairs.

"Yeah so, he might be a bit more pissed off now," Tessa said with a forced smile.

"What happened?" Fiona asked, drying her hands on a towel.

"I kinda snapped and told him to stop being a little bitch about Karen." Tessa wrung her hands and bit the inside of her cheek.

Fiona laughed and nodded her head. "I knew I liked you. Karen's had Lip wrapped around her finger for a while now. I'm glad someone put him in his place."

Tessa was a little surprised that Fiona hadn't been mad at Tessa for yelling at her brother like that, especially when it had been none of her business.

She nodded her head and helped Fiona clean up the rest of the kitchen. Lip came downstairs and left through the backdoor without so much as a word or a wave goodbye.

Fiona and Tessa exchanged glances and Tessa clenched her teeth together. She had just made his mood worse.

"He'll get over it," Fiona said with a shrug. "He'll forget about it once the bonfire starts."

Tessa nodded and went back to what she had been cleaning. She didn't know why she cared so much about upsetting Lip.

 **A:N/ Yay! Chapter three is done. How did you like the change to third person? I found it easier to write, honestly. Please review so I know you guys want more of this story!**


	4. FOUR

**A:N/ This chapter is pretty heavy on Tessa's friendship with Fiona and not a lot of interaction with Lip. I don't want their relationship to be one where they are in love or some shit within the first ten chapters. I would it to be a little more realistic than that, and a little more realistic for Lip's character. Favorites, Reviews, and Followers are appreciated!**

Tessa walked into the house behind Debbie after being let in. It seemed that everyone was awake but arguing. She shouldn't even be surprised anymore.

Fiona looked up when she saw Tessa walk in and she rolled her eyes. "Frank rented out his fucking room," she scoffed.

She folded her arms and leaned against the fridge. "Yikes," Tessa said. "Why don't you change the locks? It would keep him out of the house and whoever he rented his room to."

"Great idea," Lip said, sarcastically. "Locks cost money and it also cost money to have someone put them in." He took a sip of his coffee and Tessa resisted the urge to give him a good punch.

"New locks are actually cheap," Tessa said with a glare at Lip. "And I've changed plenty of locks plenty of times. I could help you do it."

Fiona raised her brows. "Really?" She asked.

Tessa nodded and glared at Lip. He was still sore about her yelling at him the other day.

The eldest Gallagher stopped moving laundry around and stood in the middle of the kitchen. "For now Liam stays in with the boys room until we can figure this mess out."

Debbie grinned in triumph but the three boys all complained.

"Four boys in one room? That's gotta be a health code violation," Lip said.

"I'll find Frank and figure this out but until then four in the room!" Fiona insisted.

A very pregnant woman came down the stairs and everyone stared at her. Tessa guessed that this was the woman who had rented Frank's room. She placed a big pan, a wok, on the stove along with a bagged chicken. Tessa scrunched up her nose in disgust.

Fiona grabbed her phone off the counter and went to dial Sheila's number in order to get Frank over to the house. He would never show up if she asked him to, so she knew she had to get him over there by tricking him.

"Hey Sheila, is Frank there?" Fiona asked, walking into the living room where Tessa, Lip and Ian all followed her. Tessa couldn't say she wasn't entertained by the idea of seeing Frank freak out once he realized he had been brought to the house under false pretenses.

"Somebody just dropped off two-hundred dollars for you. He said he owed you, and thanks." Fiona waited a beat and began to describe the man that had never dropped off any money. "Unshaven, flannel shirt, cauliflower ear. I'm leaving fifty for you on the mantle and using the rest to get groceries." Fiona hung up the phone and Tessa grinned.

"Bravo," Ian said.

"Yeah." Lip hopped down from where he had been sitting. "Give him hell sis."

Lip and Ian left the house and Tessa turned to grin at Fiona. "That was impressive," she said.

Fiona laughed. "Well when you've had to deal with Frank your whole life you learn a few things. Money is always a safe bet when it comes to getting Frank to do something he wouldn't do out of the kindness of his heart," she explained.

"The rush is starting!" Debbie yelled out and Tessa looked up to see kids coming into the house. She spotted the girl that was living with Veronica and Kev and remembered that her name was Ethel. She couldn't imagine wearing all that clothing in this heat. Tessa was already hot in her shorts and tank top.

Tessa folded her arms across her chest and watched Carl sit on the couch next to the pregnant Asian woman. "You ever eat a dog? Chocolate covered sparrow?"

Tessa chuckled but smacked Carl upside the head. "Go help your sister," she said.

Her attention turned to the kitchen when she heard the back door open and Frank walked in. She hadn't met Frank yet but he looked like a bum. "Where's my money?" He asked.

Fiona looked up from sorting the laundry. "Ask kung-foo panda."

Tessa snorted at Fiona's quip.

"Oh you tricked me!" Frank exclaimed.

"You gave somebody the key to our house?" Fiona asked.

"Are we gonna get bird flu?" Debbie asked, walking into the kitchen.

"No!" Fiona shouted. "Go watch the kids please."

Not wanting to add stress to Fiona's situation, Tessa turned towards the kids that were pouring in and began to help Debbie and Carl.

"How many kids do you guys watch?" Tessa asked, turning to Carl.

The boy shrugged. "I dunno."

Tessa rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Helpful, Carl. Real helpful."

"People are in and out of here like it's a Guatemalan whore house. I didn't think you'd notice." He walked into the living room and pointed like Tessa. "See?!" He exclaimed. "I have no idea who this girl is." He turned his attention back towards Fiona. "Another mouth for me to feed?"

Fiona scoffed and Tessa raised her eyebrows. Yikes. She was definitely glad she had never had to deal with her dad. Tessa had to give more credit to Fiona for dealing with him and raising all of these kids.

"Don't bring her into this!" Fiona snapped. "You've never contributed to this household. And I notice when you're here. You only came here because you thought money was involved. You know what happens when you're not here? _Life_!"

Frank turned to the pregnant woman and said something in another language before leaving out the front door. _Well_ , Tessa thought. _That was eventful_.

Fiona sighed and turned to the lady. "You can stay here until the baby is born, but you're helping with the daycare. Get in the kitchen and start fillin' sippy cups."

The woman rolled her eyes. "No English," she sighed.

Tessa scoffed and desperately wanted to see Fiona toss this chick out.

Fiona leaned down to get closer to the woman's face. "Start filling cups with apple juice or I'll have you and your fetus deported faster than you can say Saigon."

The woman sighed and stood up to go into the kitchen.

"Okay guys! I'm going upstairs to my office. Debbie and Ethel are in charge. Don't go into the pool or you'll drown!" Fiona said happily.

Tessa placed one of the kids on the floor before following Fiona upstairs.

"You weren't kidding about Frank," Tessa said, walking into Fiona's room.

Fiona shot Tessa an annoyed stare. "I wish I was," she scoffed. Fiona pulled her pants off and sat on the edge of her bed.

"Ah sorry. I forgot you were coming over. I'm exhausted and have to work again tonight. Rain check?" Fiona asked.

Tessa shrugged. "That's fine. I can help Debbie and Carl downstairs. I don't work today and I don't mind. Probably a good idea if someone older than twelve was down there," she said with a laugh.

"You'd be surprised," Fiona said. "They actually do a great job."

"Then how about I keep an eye on that lazy pregnant bitch?" Tessa raised a brow and Fiona laughed.

"You don't have to. Go home and enjoy your day off."

Tessa shrugged. "I don't mind. I _like_ spending time with your family, Fiona. I love Debbie and Carl even though I haven't known them for long. You know I basically grew up alone so having a lot of people around me, even if they're always arguing, is a nice change."

Fiona nodded her head and raised her brows. "Okay," she said slowly. "But don't say I didn't warn you." Fiona pulled down her eye-cover that read ' _Fuck Off_ ' and flopped down onto her bed.

Tessa shut the door behind her and went back downstairs. "Where did Carl go?" she asked.

Debbie shrugged. "He left," she said. "Not that he's much help."

She turned to look at Ethel who was holding onto a blonde baby. "I'm Tessa," she said with a wave. "You must be Ethel."

The girl smiled; an honest smile that wasn't filled with sarcasm or anger. "It's so nice to meet you, Tessa. This is my son, Jonah." She glanced down at the little boy, happiness on her face.

"Oh wow," Tessa said. V hadn't been kidding about this kid having a kid. "Well, he's adorable." She said.

Tessa moved and sat down on the couch and began to play with one of the little kids. She helped Debbie set up arts and crafts and helped any kid that began to cry. When Tessa picked one up that needed a diaper change, she handed the kid off to Debbie. "Sorry Debs," Tessa said. "I don't do diapers."

Debbie's mouth dropped and she took the kid in her hands. "I thought you were helping today!"

She nodded. "I am," she agreed. "But not with this." She shot Debbie a smile before she turned and went back to watching the kids who were painting.

Tessa turned when she heard a strange noise. She saw Carl dragging a mattress down the stairs and she stood up, raising a brow in confusion. She folded her arms across her chest and just watched to see where this went.

He eventually got to the end of the stairs and pushed the mattress into the small space under the stairs.

"Carl," Tessa said slowly. The ten year old turned to look at her. "What are you doing?" She asked.

"There's no way I'm staying in that room!" he scoffed.

"Well, I'd let you come crash with me if I was sure you wouldn't burn my place down. I'd like to get my security deposit back some day," Tessa joked.

Carl's eyes lit up in excitement. "Could I really?" he asked.

Tessa frowned. Clearly she hadn't thought her joke through all the way. "I'm sure Fiona needs you here, Carl."

The boy sighed and turned to finish adjusting his mattress.

She began to pick up a few toys and tossed them back into the basket. She walked into the kitchen and began to gather a few of the sippy cups that the woman had filled with apple juice. She didn't know who got them and who didn't, so she would have to ask Debbie.

When she walked back into the room Carl had begun to read them a story. After handing the cups off to Debbie, Tessa yelled that she would be right back and went to the restroom.

When she came out, Fiona was walking down the stairs.

"I thought you were sleeping?" Tessa asked, wiping her hands on her shorts.

Fiona sighed. "Couldn't fall asleep." Tessa was sure that it had to do with Frank and the million other issues she was dealing with.

The girls began to walk into the living room and Fiona slowed down. Tessa gave her a strange look but Fiona rushed forward and grabbed the book from Carl. "Okay kids, story times over! Who wants to go outside and play with bubbles?"

All of the kids raised their hands and jumped up from where they had been sitting. Debbie ushered the kids outside and Fiona turned to glare at Carl.

"Still wanna blow Craig Heisner?" Carl asked, folding his arms across his chest.

"Where did you get this?" Fiona yelled.

"Under the stairs," he said.

"Why is your mattress down here?"

"Need a place to sleep."

"You have a place to sleep. Take it back upstairs! And when you find something that isn't yours, keep it that way!" She snapped.

Tessa was glad that she had never kept a diary as a kid, not that she had any siblings to go snooping around only to end up reading it to the daycare. It appeared that Fiona could just not get a break today.

Carl pushed past Fiona and Tessa turned to Fiona. She almost mentioned letting Carl come stay with her for a little bit, but knew she would immediately deny her offer.

Carl grabbed his mattress and went through the kitchen. "Carl, where are you going?"

He didn't answer and Fiona flopped onto the couch.

"Sorry," Tessa apologized. "When I went to the bathroom he was reading a different story."

Fiona shook her head. "It's not your fault," she said.

She knew it wasn't her fault, but she still felt a little guilty. "What about letting him sleep in that van in your backyard?" Tessa suggested.

Fiona sat up and cocked her head to the side in thought. "That's not a bad idea," she said. "It would be like camping without the tent."

Tessa grinned and nodded her head, sitting down on the couch.

"I'll be right back," Fiona said and ran out the back door to make sure Carl didn't do something stupid and to tell him about his new living arrangements.

Tessa pulled out her phone and began to go through her texts. Half of them were from Sam complaining about work and she had a few others from different people she didn't really care about.

Tessa and Fiona hung out for the rest of the day, and helped Fiona clean up after the kids had been picked up by their parents. Fiona tried to get Tessa to go home and enjoy some of her day, but she made it clear that she was having a good day. If she were at home she was would be sitting on her couch, smoking a joint and sweating from the heat.

Fiona got ready for work and Tessa said she would take off after she finished eating with Debbie and Carl. Fiona had thrown some chicken nuggets and fries in the oven but had left before she had a chance to eat.

"So Fiona says you're sleeping in the van?" Tessa said to Carl.

"Yeah it's gonna be sick!" he said.

Tessa nodded and popped a fry into her mouth. "Well I'm glad that you're happy. I can see why having four boys in one room might suck." Tessa had never had any siblings, but she couldn't imagine how gross that room would become.

"And you must be happy to have your own room?" Tessa turned to Debbie.

She rolled her eyes and let out a sigh. "Yes! It's about time too. I mean, I'm turning into a woman and I'm going to need some privacy."

Tessa chuckled at how dramatic Debbie was being, but she was getting to that age where everything seemed like it was the end of the world.

The three of them finished eating and Debbie and Carl took care of their plates before leaving the kitchen. Tessa grabbed her own empty plate and walked into the kitchen to clean up for Fiona. She didn't want to leave a messy kitchen behind before she went home.

"Hey Fiona can I ask you something?" A voice called as she heard the front door open and close.

Tessa turned to see Lip walk into the kitchen with confusion on his face. "Where's Fiona?" he asked.

"At work," Tessa said, turning back to the dishes she was washing in the sink.

"So why are you here?"

Tessa rolled her eyes and had to bite her tongue to keep her from snapping at Lip. "We were in the middle of making dinner before Fiona realized she was going to be late to work. I said I would stay and finish with Debbie and Carl before I went home."

Lip nodded and Tessa was surprised that he had no smart-ass remark for her. He walked around and sat at the stool on the other side of the counter.

"So, you're a girl…" Lip began.

Tessa had been drying her hands on her towel when Lip said that and she rolled her eyes. She looked down and grabbed her boobs in mock surprise. "Wow thanks! I had no idea!" She gasped.

Lip rolled his eyes. "Shut up. So if a girl isn't sleeping with a guy but they're hanging out, what does that mean?"

Tessa dropped her hands and leaned her back against the counter while she looked over at Lip.

"I guess there could be a few different reasons," Tessa said.

"Like?"

Tessa furrowed her brow and squinted her eyes at Lip. "And why do you want to know? And why do you _all of a sudden_ care about what I have to say? You've had a stick up your ass since we've met."

Lip's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Clearly he hadn't been expecting Tessa to say something like that. Instead of scoffing and walking away, he laughed.

She raised a single brow in confusion. "Are you high? Because you seem to be a little more tolerable when you're high," she pointed out.

He laughed again. "I'm not actually, but it sounds like a good idea. Look, I'm just not a fan of strangers and I have too many things going on to worry about being a good host."

She shrugged and nodded her head. "Well," she began. "She could be putting him in the friendzone, or she could be holding out because she actually likes this guy. If a girl just wants something physical then there's no reason to hold out. But if she wants something more then she's going to hold out so that way this guy knows she isn't just some piece of ass. She wants to make sure he knows who she is as a person before he gets to see that part of her." Tessa internally rolled her eyes at how One Tree Hill she sounded.

Lip scoffed. "That's what Kev said."

Tessa pursed her lips. "Don't bite my head off or anything, but is this about that Karen chick?"

He nodded and pulled out a cigarette from his pocket.

"So you guys slept together for a while and were just friends. Friends with benefits. That shit never lasts without feelings getting involved. It's literally how we're wired. My guess is one of you, or both of you, developed feelings and it ended messy. Now you're trying to get back to what you had?" She guessed.

Lip lit his cigarette and shrugged. "I guess," he said. "But this guy is such a tool!" He said. "You should see him."

"If I'm ignoring my personal opinion on this, I would say wait it out to see how things go. It could crumble if she holds out too long; not all guys are that patient," Tessa began. "But otherwise, I would say forget her. Hell, maybe even use another chick to make her jealous. It may not make her jealous but that's a sure way to see how she feels."

Lip inhaled the smoke and nodded his head. Turning his mouth up towards the ceiling he let the smoke out. "So uh, how about we start hanging out?" he asked, a lop-sided grin on his face.

Tessa narrowed her eyes and shook her head. "I am not going to help you out with this. My advice is as far as it goes. Besides, you don't even like me. Can you imagine having to spend time with me to get this to actually work?" she asked.

Sighing, Tessa ran a hand through her hair. "Do you know where these guys even met?" she asked.

"Sex addicts anonymous," Lip scoffed.

Tessa laughed and immediately slapped a hand over her mouth, knowing it was rude of her. "I'm sorry," she said through a giggle. "But him getting impatient about sex is not going to happen."

"We've had sex a few times since then," Lip pointed out.

Raising a brow, Tessa looked at him. "With Jody?" She asked in a serious voice, even though she knew who he was talking about.

"No, smart-ass, Karen."

"Well does she think of him as a boyfriend?"

Lip shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe."

"Well if she does then I would stay away from that anyway. She's already cheating on him with you and someone who cheats is bound to cheat again. Trust me. Just because she cheated on him with you, does not mean you are immune to her cheating on you," Tessa pointed out.

Lip rapped his knuckles against the counter and stood up from where he had been sitting. "Well," he began. "If you change your mind about helping me make her jealous, you know where to find me." With that Lip left the kitchen, and a flabbergasted Tessa, and went upstairs to his room.

Her mouth was agape a little bit and she couldn't believe him. Lip was acting more moody than a hormonal teenage girl. She wished he would just make up his mind so she could develop an actual opinion about the Gallagher boy.

 **A:N/ What did you guys think? Reviews are always appreciated. Not a ton happened here but I think there was some important bonding between Tessa and most of the Gallagher family members.**


	5. FIVE

**A:N/ Hey you guys! Sorry for the lack of an update over the past few days. I had a final exam and then I graduated college. Here's the last installment.**

It had been a few days since Tessa had seen any of the Gallaghers. She had been working like crazy at the diner but the tips had been a little better than normal. She went over to Fiona's after getting a text about how she was worried about Debbie. Apparently the red head was obsessed with death all of a sudden. Then Fiona had mentioned hearing back from Craig Heisner.

Every girl had that one guy from high school they had never quite gotten to. There was always a guy that she had never quite gotten the courage to talk to, even if she was confident around every other guy. Tessa had one of those guys when she had been in high school before she had gotten her GED. Eric Cooper. He had been the farthest thing from the type of guy she usually went after: blonde hair with baby blue eyes, nice tan and a smile to fawn over. Basically a younger version of Paul Walker (RIP). But Tessa had dropped out before she had ever mustered up the courage to talk to the jock.

Tessa went inside without knocking and into the kitchen where Fiona was. She looked hot for her date with this Craig guy. Tessa walked around the counter and sat on the barstool.

"What are you guys going to do again?" Tessa asked.

"We're getting some coffee to catch up." Fiona was doing a few things around the kitchen before he left.

Tessa nodded and glanced around the kitchen. "But he's married, right? I mean, no judgment but I kinda didn't think you'd be into the married dudes."

Fiona laughed and nodded. "I'm not. But it's more of a thing where I show him what he missed out on," Fiona said.

Tessa joined in with a laugh and nodded. "Okay now that sounds like a good idea," she noted. "So what's up with Debbie?"

A sigh escaped Fiona's lips. "I don't even know. I guess she saw a dead body at the old person's home where V works. They must have been friends but she's been obsessed with death since that happened."

"I could talk to her," Tessa offered.

Fiona's brows shot up. "Really? I've tried but haven't gotten anymore."

Tessa shrugged. "I've seen someone die before. Maybe getting her attention with that would help, and then go into the whole calm your shit thing."

"Yikes. You've seen someone die?"

Tessa pursed her lips and nodded. "Someone overdosed from drugs. It sucked, but I barely knew the guy."

"Well I would appreciate it, so long as she doesn't come out of the conversation even more obsessed with death." Fiona shot Tessa a fake warning glance and the brunette nodded.

"Got it. Well you look like a hot piece of ass and I'm upstairs to see if I can get through to the grim reaper. I'll see you later?" Tessa asked, standing up from her seat.

Fiona nodded. "Wish me luck!"

"Are you sure you don't mean to wish for you to get lucky?" Tessa joked with a smirk on her face.

Fiona flipped her off before heading out the front door.

She walked up the steps to find Carl standing on Ian's feet as the red head did sit-ups. She could see Lip in his bedroom lighting a bowl and he raised his eyebrows. "Change your mind?" He asked.

It took her a moment to remember what he was talking about. Oh, right. He wanted her to help him make Karen jealous. Tessa scoffed and shook her head. "Yeah right. I'm here to talk to death girl."

Tessa could hear Debbie singing in the bathroom and she knocked on the door. "Debbie!" Tessa called. "It's Tessa. Why don't you come out so we can talk?"

She got no response other than the continuation of the song she had been singing.

Biting her lip she glanced towards the trio of brothers before looking back at the door. "You know, I've seen a dead body too."

The singing stopped and so did Carl, Ian and Lip. Lip gave her a 'what the fuck' look.

"Hey," she hissed. "At least I'm trying to help. Getting high isn't exactly going to earn you the brother of the year award."

The door opened and Debbie appeared. "Really?" she asked.

Tessa took the CD player out of her hands and wrapped it up in the headphones so she could take the morbid music away from Debbie.

"Yeah," she nodded her head. "Let's go in your room."

Debbie nodded and led Tessa to where her room was, only a few doors down from the bathroom. Tessa flipped Lip off before she disappeared from his view.

She walked into Debbie's room and closed the door behind her. Debbie sat down on her bed and she sat down across from her, sitting Indian style.

"So you saw a dead body?" She asked.

Tessa nodded. "Yeah. I was at a party and this guy was doing drugs. He obviously took too much and he overdosed."

Debbie waited a moment, waiting for Tessa to continue but she didn't.

"That's it?" Debbie asked.

Tessa tried not to laugh. She knew Debbie wouldn't be satisfied with her story, but that was sort of the point.

"That's not even a good story!" Debbie scoffed. "Where's the pain? Where's the feeling of hopelessness? Did you see the light leave his eyes?"

Tessa raised her eyebrows; surprised by the questions Debbie was shooting out at her. "Because death isn't interesting, Debbie." Tessa ran a hand through her hair. "It sucks and it's going to happen, but you should focus on life." She couldn't believe how she sounded like a motivational speaker. "Get a different hobby," she finished.

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"My steak is too rare."

"Have this one King Henry," Fiona said, lifting her plate and handing it over to Veronica.

"Alright what was the final tally of the purse?" Lip asked, taking a sip from his drink.

"Five hundred and twenty-six bucks," Fiona said, disbelief in her voice. She licked her fingers clean from whatever she had been eating.

Ian spoke up. "Who carries around that kind of cash?"

"Uh," Fiona wiped her hands on a napkin before reaching into the purse. "Kim Fertado."

"Rich bitch," Veronica muttered under her breath and Tessa chuckled.

"In our neighborhood?" Ian asked.

Tessa zoned out for a moment and thought about how great it was that Fiona had found the purse. The money was certainly not something she was going to give back, and Tessa wouldn't have either. Maybe that made her a bad person, but she didn't really care.

She tuned back into the conversation just in time to hear Lip describing all the reasons why the purse was real. Everyone gave him a strange look.

"I read a lot," he said, as if it was a proper excuse.

Tessa snorted at the lame excuse and put a bite of steak into her mouth. Fiona told Debbie to try to eat some salad and she glanced at Debbie before returning to her food. Apparently their talk hadn't gone as well as she would have liked since she was currently talking to Ethel about how India treated their dead.

Lip handed Fiona his phone and she began to talk into it. "Hi Kim. Uh, my name's Fiona. I found your purse on the L. Um, give me a call back on your cell so that I can get it back to you. Okay, bye." Fiona handed the purse back to Lip.

"Perfect," he said. "Now don't give it back unless she gives you at least two hundred bucks. That's how much we can get for it on eBay."

Tessa shook her head. "The cook at my work sells knock offs and sometimes real ones to stupid travelers. He could easily get three hundred."

"Alright, you guys. Let's go stock up on chicken nuggets for home," Lip said.

Carl stood and grinned. "I heart sizzler."

The kids went off back towards the buffet and Tessa put another bite of steak into her mouth.

"You know, it's a good thing I met up with Craig Heisner. Otherwise I never would've found the purse," Fiona pointed out.

"He's married," Veronica deadpanned.

Fiona glared. "I'm talking about the purse."

Tessa laughed and shook her head. "Well thanks for the food, Fiona." Tessa grinned.

They packed up and left the diner. Tessa headed home for a few hours before she had to get ready to go to the alibi for Kev's little beach party thing.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Tessa walked into the bar with Debbie. She had her shorts and a crop top on and had grabbed a lei for Debbie to wear. She had no idea where any of the other Gallaghers were, but it seemed that Debbie was doing better for the time being.

She sat down at the bar and ordered a drink while Debbie sipped on some juice.

"Have you ever been to Hawaii?" Debbie asked.

Tessa snorted and shook her head. "Babe, I haven't been out of Illinois."

Debbie frowned. "I want to go to Hawaii someday."

"I'm sure if you save enough money then you could," Tessa said.

Tessa glanced around and saw Karen sitting with an older guy, who she assumed was Jody. Further in the back she saw Lip smoking a cigarette and drinking a beer. She could tell her was trying not to glare over at where Karen was sitting.

"You okay if I go talk to Lip for a second?" Tessa asked, turning to Debbie.

She nodded and Tessa left to go approach a brooding Lip.

Tessa sat down on the stool across from him and put her drink on the table. "Stop staring," she said. "You aren't exactly being subtle."

He scoffed. "She thinks Jody is going to propose to her," he said.

Yikes. Tessa knew Lip was hung up on Karen but this would not bode well for any plans he had of getting back with her.

"So maybe that's just another sign that you need to let her go?" Tessa tried. She took a sip of her drink and snapped her fingers in front of Lip's face. His gaze was no longer really focused on Karen but he was clearly spacing out.

Finally he snapped back from wherever he had gone and Tessa sighed. "You have to let her go," Tessa said again.

"It's not that. This Jody is a tool," Lip tried.

Now it was Tessa's turn to scoff. "I'm not stupid. You're hung up on this chick."

She couldn't understand how Lip could be acting like this. She would have never pegged him for the type of guy to pine over a girl like this. "Just go hook up with some random chick," Tessa suggested.

"You offering?" Lip asked.

Tessa shook her head and took another sip of her drink. "Nope. Really not into the whole hooking up thing, especially with my friend's brother." She had done the whole random hook-up thing and gotten it out of her system.

"Why the fuck not?" Lip asked. He looked at her like she had three heads.

She laughed. "Because I've been through that phase. I need some consistency in my life and you can't have sex with someone and just stay friends. You know all about the chemicals your body releases during sex, you're smart."

"Look," Lip sighed. "You offered a solution."

Tessa clenched her teeth and glared at him. "Is she looking over here?" Tessa asked.

Lip glanced over her shoulder and shook his head.

Tessa leaned over the table. She couldn't believe she was about to help Lip.

"Oh shit, now she is."

In a second she pulled Lip forward and crushed her lips to his. It didn't take long for Lip to respond to her action. He wound his hand in her hair and pulled her closer. Tessa kept the kiss PG-13 but made sure it was enough to get a girl jealous. A simple peck on the lips wouldn't do shit.

Tessa pulled back slightly and looked at Lip. Their faces were only a few inches apart. "Don't look over at her," Tessa warned. "And don't look at her when we leave." If Lip looked over at Karen it would become obvious in an instant that he was _trying_ to make her jealous. Girls could see past that shit easily. If it seemed like he was moving on, then he may get a reaction.

She pulled back all the way, finished off her drink and hopped down from the stool. "Let's go," she said, looking at Lip expectantly.

Lip finished off his beer and got off his stool as well. Tessa grabbed his hand and walked him through the bar towards the door. Shit. Debbie.

She stopped at Debbie next to the bar who was surprisingly sitting next to Frank. "Hey Debs, can you catch a ride home with V?" Tessa asked.

The red head nodded and glanced between Tessa and her older brother.

Tessa grinned and continued to drag Lip out of the Alibi. Once they were outside she released his hand and he pushed her up against the wall.

His hands grabbed her face and she shook him off. "What are you doing?" She said with a laugh.

Lip looked at her with confusion. "Obtaining a distraction."

Tessa moved out from under him and walked backwards a few steps. "And if you listened to a word I said back there, then you know I don't just hook-up." It was strange since Tessa seemed like the girl who wouldn't care about that sort of thing, but she had been through that phase and had no desire to get back into that hobby.

"Then what was that?" Lip asked. Tessa could see him growing frustrated.

"I was making her jealous! It's implied that we left to go hook-up, that doesn't mean we really have to," she said.

Lip scowled and shook his head. "Karen's not going to believe that," he said.

Tessa laughed. "And you think you have to walk back in there with sex hair in order to convince her?" Tessa couldn't stop laughing at how ridiculous Lip was being.

He didn't say anything and pulled out his pack of cigarettes.

"Look, you can go back in there if you want," she said with a sigh. "Or you can go home and let her think that you've moved on."

Lip lit his cigarette in his mouth and inhaled the smoke. He was practically ignoring Tessa at this point.

"Or you can actually forget about her since, you know, she _is_ getting married," she pointed out.

He exhaled and smoke filled the air around them. Sighing again, Tessa walked back towards Lip and placed a hand on the side of his cheek. "We can keep this charade up," she began. "But that's all I'm offering. It's your choice." She kissed him on the corner of his mouth and dropped her hand. She offered him a small smile before walking away to find her car so she could go home.

 **A:N/ FINALLY something happened. What did you guys think? I seriously need to know your thoughts about this. I wanted their relationship to be more of a slow burn, so I'm not sure if this would be considered going to quickly. Lip has no feelings for Tessa at this point since he's still hung up on Karen, but he clearly is attracted to Tessa.**


	6. SIX

**A:N/ Author note here.**

Tessa woke up to the sound of her phone buzzing and she groaned, rolling over in her bed. Before she decided to ignore it, she wanted to see who was waking her up at this ungodly hour. Fiona.

Sighing, she answered the phone. "Hello?" Tessa asked, sleep evident in her voice.

"Were you sleeping?" Fiona asked.

"I was trying to," Tessa huffed, rolling over onto her back and running a hand through her hair.

"It's almost noon," Fiona said.

Tessa sighed. "What's up Fiona?" Tessa was not exactly a morning person.

"Several things," her friend began. "First of all, remember Craig Heisner? Well we slept together and now his wife is chasing me around throwing chocolate shakes and me and wanting to beat me with a bat. Then Debbie is having a sleepover tomorrow night and she wants you to come."

Tessa had to think about everything Fiona had just said. "Wait, what?" Tessa was more awake now and she sat up in bed, leaning against the wall. "You slept with Craig Heisner?" A grin appeared on Tessa's face. "Good for you!"

"No it was bad!" Fiona half-yelled. "And now his psycho bitch of a wife is holding banners in town saying Fiona Gallagher slept with our daddy."

She had to try not to laugh at the ridiculous image that popped up in her head. "So does that mean we have to cut a bitch?"

Fiona sighed. "We can talk about this more later. But Debbie's sleepover, can you come? Her list is literally you, Veronica, and Aunt Ginger from V's nursing home."

It wasn't often that Fiona felt desperate, but Tessa could hear the desperation in her voice. She didn't want to stay over, especially after how things had ended with Lip the other night. But she couldn't let Debbie down. She released a sigh. "Uhm what day is it?" she asked.

"Friday," Fiona answered.

She had to work Saturday but had a lunch shift only into dinner a little bit. "Yeah I can go. I might be late because of work but I don't have to work all night," Tessa said.

"Thanks, she'll be really excited." Fiona said goodbye and hung up the phone.

Now all Tessa had to deal with was Lip. She hoped he wouldn't be there.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

By the time Tessa arrived at the Gallaghers, the kids were already in the middle of watching the Nightmare on Elm Street remake. Tessa hadn't been impressed by it, but she was sure it must be scary for thirteen year olds.

"Tessa!" Debbie exclaimed. She got up from the couch and ran over to hug her. Debbie's arms wrapped around Tessa's hips and she hugged the little redhead back.

She pulled back and looked down at her. "Sorry I'm late Debs, I had to work." She looked around but didn't see anyone over the age of fifteen. Frowning, Tessa turned back to Debbie. "Where's Fiona?" she asked.

Debbie scoffed. "Her and Veronica had to work. She's the one that made me have this stupid party!"

Tessa bent over so she was level with Debbie. "Well I didn't get you a birthday present, but how about next week we go shopping for some clothes? You start school soon and I'm sure we could find some things that make you look awesome." Tessa knew it wasn't really Debbie's birthday but she figured a little girl-shopping trip might make her feel better.

"It's not really my birthday," Debbie mumbled, embarrassed by the lie.

Tessa laughed and ran a hand through Debbie's hair. "I know. If you don't want to go shopping, we don't have to."

Debbie's eyes went wide and she shook her head frantically. "No! I want to! I was just letting you know."

"Shut up! We're watching a movie!" Tessa recognized Carl's voice and she glared at the back of his head. She reached over and smacked Carl upside the head and he turned to glare at her in return.

Neither of them said anything but he eventually turned back around to continue watching the movie.

Tessa ushered Debbie out of the living room and into the kitchen so they could talk without disrupting the movie again.

"So if Fiona's not here, who's supervising this thing?" Tessa didn't completely mind if it was her, but she wished Fiona would have at least given her a heads up.

"Ian and Lip are here. I think they're upstairs since they've already seen this movie."

Debbie bit her lip and Tessa raised an eyebrow. The Gallagher was clearly holding back something.

"What?" Tessa asked.

Debbie sighed. "What happened with you and Lip?" she asked.

Folding her arms across her chest, Tessa leaned against the counter. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"The other night at the Alibi during the party. You guys left holding hands and neither of you came back."

At least now Tessa knew that Lip hadn't gone back in there. At least he had taken her advice for trying to convince Karen that their act had been real.

"Oh, just making Karen jealous," Tessa explained. She probably should have lied to Debbie but she didn't really care. If Lip was going to be an ass about how she was helping him, then she wouldn't take precautions about what had or had not happened.

Before Debbie could say anything else, Tessa spoke. "I'm gonna go find Ian and Lip but I'll be back down in a bit, okay? You go finish your movie." Tessa winked at Debbie before going upstairs to find the boys.

The door to their bedroom was open but Tessa only found Ian inside. She glanced up but Lip wasn't on his top bunk.

"Hey," Ian greeted, looking up from his book.

"I thought Lip was here?" she asked.

Sighing, Ian shook his head. "He is. I think he's hanging out with Mandy. Probably making out," he muttered.

Tessa nodded and went to sit down next to Ian on his bed. "What are you reading?" she asked.

He flipped the book over so she could see the cover. "I want to go to West Point," he said. "So I'm trying to get everything figured out ahead of time so I can make sure I'm qualified."

She didn't like the idea of Ian joining the army, but she also barely knew him. They had probably spent the least amount of time together out of all of the Gallagher siblings.

"Well, I think you can do it," Tessa said. "You've already got ROTC under your belt and you're doing the work to get ahead of everyone else."

Ian offered her a sincere smile. "Thanks," he said. "Lip thinks it's a shit idea. He says I'm stupid for wanting to fight in the army."

Tessa rolled her eyes. "Well we both know Lip has his head too far up his ass to know anything. I think it's good that you're working hard to accomplish something you want. I never had the ambition to do something like that."

Ian closed the book and placed it on his desk. "You never had anything that you loved? Anything you really wanted to do?"

Tessa inhaled a breath before thinking. "I used to be good at track, like Fiona, but I never really thought about championships. I just liked to run. I liked to draw, but college wasn't in my cards and you don't make shit being an artist. I came to realize that there's a reality and it's different from what I had wanted." She shrugged. Tessa wasn't upset with how her life had turned out. She hadn't known her father and her mother had been in an out of her life since she could remember. She was simply living.

"I think you should get back into drawing," Ian said.

Tessa laughed. "Oh yeah?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "Because you know that I'm such a good artist? What if I actually sucked?"

Ian shrugged. "I doubt it. But I think it would give you something to make you happy. Even if you just pick it up as a hobby."

His suggestion wasn't completely ludicrous, but Tessa doubted she could even draw anymore. "We'll see," she said.

She drummed her hands on her thighs and looked around the room. "How's Lip doing with the whole Karen thing?" she asked. It was a risk bringing it up, but she wasn't sure she would get any information from Lip.

Ian rolled his eyes, clearly annoyed with the situation. "Being an ass-hat, as usual."

She laughed and nodded her head. "That sounds about right."

"He's convinced he's the best thing for her and that they are best friends. No. You know what they were? Fuck buddies. Then she fucked our dad and it really messed with Lip's head. She's a bitch." Ian huffed and Tessa pursed her lips.

"Sorry I asked," she muttered, a little sarcasm evident in her voice.

Ian sighed and shook his head. "Sorry. We got in a fight about it earlier so I'm kind of still pissed about the whole thing."

She nodded. "Makes sense. I can't seem to make him realize how stupid it is to pine over this chick either."

A girl entered the room and Tessa had never seen her before. Her make-up was dark and she had a nose-ring and dark hair. She was pretty, but Tessa had a feeling that this girl knew it.

"Oh uh. Hi. Ian I'm going to grab something at my house, I'll be back." The girl looked back at Tessa before making a weird face and leaving.

"Nice to meet you too!" Tessa called out after the girl.

Ian laughed. "That's Mandy. She's practically my best friend. She came here for Debbie's sleepover too."

Tessa and Ian talked about numerous things. Ian talked about school, West Point, and how his friend Mickey had started working security at the little shop he worked at. He had some hilarious stories about Mickey scaring the shit out of kids who tried to steal candy bars. Tessa talked about how much working at the diner sucked and how she had a small job coming up where she would be helping to clean a movie theater after a big movie premiere. Apparently they were short staffed and her friend had gotten her a job for the one night.

The sound of yells from downstairs made Ian and Tessa run down to see what had happened. Tessa felt bad since she had promised Debbie she wouldn't be long.

"I don't know!" Carl told Fiona.

Fiona swore and ran a hand through her hair. "Jesus. What is going on?!"

Debbie walked back into the living room and pushed back Tessa and Ian. "Holly left my party in the middle of the night because of something Lip did."

Tessa frowned at how upset Debbie sounded. She wished she had been down there to beat the shit out of Lip for whatever he had done.

Lip came barreling down the stairs and Fiona glared at him. "You didn't." Fiona's words were filled with threats.

"No, I didn't." Lip practically scoffed at the idea but Fiona continued to glare. "Alright, I blew her off and she split."

"You could've just done her so my party wouldn't have sucked!" Debbie yelled.

Lip's eyes went wide at the suggestion. "Debs, she's fourteen!"

Fiona, Lip and Debbie all continued to argue into the kitchen and Ian looked at Tessa.

"Well this is awkward," Tessa muttered to which Ian forced a laugh.

Everyone else had left during the argument and Tessa felt guilty. Now Debbie's entire party had been ruined.

As if sensing what she was thinking, Ian nudged her with his elbow. "Hey – it's not your fault."

Biting the inside of her cheek Tessa nodded, even though she still felt guilty.

Ian and Tessa slowly made their way into the kitchen once the yelling had subsided. Debbie had gone upstairs and so had Lip. Fiona was telling the guy that he had to sleep on the couch.

"I should go," Tessa said slowly. She didn't want to make Debbie feel bad, so she decided that she would have to say goodbye before she left. Not to mention she left her bag in Ian's room.

Tessa followed Ian upstairs and she ducked into Debbie's room first. She had changed into different PJs and was sitting on her bed.

"Hey Debbie," Tessa said softly. "I'm sorry I stayed upstairs for so long. I was talking to Ian and lost track of time."

Debbie looked up and nodded. Tessa could see that she was still upset but was trying to hide it.

"We can still go on that shopping trip next week if you want?" Tessa was hopeful that this would get Debbie to lighten up a bit.

A small grin crept onto Debbie's face as she nodded her head. "Yes, please."

"Good." Tessa walked over and gave Debbie a hug and kissed her on the head. "Well I'm going home but I'll see you later."

Tessa turned to leave but Debbie called for her to stop. "Will you come over tomorrow morning to help with daycare? I mean, I don't really need the help but we can go swimming in the pool." The girl bit her lip in hopes of Tessa agreeing.

"Of course," Tessa said with a grin. "Even if it means waking up early. Anything for you Debs." Tessa shut the door behind her and went towards Ian and Lip's room.

The door was closed and she knocked on it before Ian yelled for her to come in.

Lip was grabbing a new shirt and Ian was sitting on his bed. Both of them were looking at her and she looked at the brothers back and forth. She felt completely awkward.

"Sorry," she said, walking forward. "Just grabbing my bag." Tessa picked the sack up off the floor and said goodbye to Ian and Lip before leaving and closing the door behind her.

She made it halfway down the hall before the door opened and closed. Lip quickly caught up to her and ushered her into a room she had never been in before. It was almost identical to Fiona's, except that the belongings were clearly that of a man.

"What?" Tessa asked, confused as to why Lip had pushed her into this room. It had a strange odor and she scrunched up her nose. "It smells like sushi. Did you really fuck that girl?" Tessa asked, her eyes wide.

Lip shook his head. "What? No!" The idea seemed so ridiculous that Tessa had to believe him when he denied her accusation.

She pursed her lips and nodded; still unsure as to why Lip had prevented her from going home to her own bed.

"Look," he began. He ran a hand over his neck and cracked it. "I just wanted to say that I took your advice about hooking up with someone and it was a nice distraction but not enough."

Tessa had to keep her composure. So he had recently had sex but it hadn't worked like she had thought. Then again, thinking back to what Ian said, this clearly involved a lot more than Lip just losing his fuck buddy. But Tessa didn't know Lip well enough to know how he had been before things had ended with Karen.

"Okay…" Tessa said slowly. She wasn't really sure what he wanted her to say.

Lip walked over to the dresser and grabbed a cigarette, quickly lighting it and taking a drag.

"I don't know what you want me to say," Tessa said, making her previous thoughts known.

Honestly, Lip didn't know what he wanted her to say. He hadn't really been thinking when he had left his room to find her and talk to her. Did he want to make her jealous by letting her know he had fucked someone and that he hadn't needed her? He wasn't sure but was now stuck in a situation he had gotten himself into.

She glanced around the room awkwardly before looking back up at Lip. "You're going to do whatever you want no matter what I suggest," she began. "But chasing the girl and trying to win her back is cute and romantic for only so long."

Tessa offered Lip a small smile before leaving the room and shutting the door behind her. She honestly just wanted to sleep for the next ten years.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Tessa splashed Ian and looked over to see Veronica, Kev, Lip and Debbie playing chicken.

"Kev's like a giant!" Debbie complained. "That's not fair."

"Life's not fair, Debs. Haven't you learned that by now?" Lip asked, walking forward so Debbie and Veronica could start to fight.

They interlocked hands and began to push at one another. "Alright, bring her down!" Kev yelled.

"Come on little girl, you're doing down!" V said through a laugh. Veronica managed to easily push Debbie off of Lip's shoulder and she threw her hands in the air in victory. "I don't play! I don't play!"

Tessa waded over to where Debbie had fallen back into the water and she grabbed her, tickling her sides. "You've gotta learn to win, Debbie!" She yelled.

Debbie laughed and tried to push Tessa's hands away, but wasn't having much luck. "Nine out of ten people are ticklish. That's how you win at these games!" Tessa exclaimed, letting Debbie fall from her grasp. She looked up to see Fiona walking out of the house with a guy behind her. Tessa had seen the guy last night but she had never learned his name.

"Looks like your rash is clearing up." Fiona walked towards the side of the pool and Debbie swam over there, grabbing onto the edge.

"Yeah," she said. "You guys done with the therapy?"

Fiona leaned against the pool's edge. "They're still in the house. He's singing your body is a wonderland."

Tessa laughed and tossed her hair up into a bun on the top of her head. "Of course he is."

"Who's this?" Kevin asked, walking towards the edge of the pool with Veronica by his side.

"Oh! Kevin, Adam. Adam, Kevin," Fiona said. She pointed over at Tessa who offered a small wave. "That's Tessa and you've met Veronica."

Tessa glanced over to see Lip was out of the pool and drying off. The sound of Veronica's infectious laugh pulled her attention back towards her friends and she laughed when she saw Adam suddenly had a few spots of water on his shirt.

She saw Karen walking across the yard and Tessa frowned. This was not going to be good. She nudged Veronica with her elbow and nodded towards the direction of Karen. Veronica hated Karen as much as Tessa did. The two had actually gotten along a lot better since they had first met. Veronica had vented about how she didn't like Fiona's other new friend, Jasmine, and had assumed Tessa would be the same.

Lip looked up to see Karen but Tessa couldn't see his facial expression. "Hey, you okay?" he asked.

Karen walked towards Lip and kicked him in the crotch.

Now everyone's attention was on the pair. Ian came over and stood next to Tessa, glancing at her with a worried look at his face. They both knew how Karen was bad for him.

"Why the fuck was Mandy Milkovich at my house trying to screw Jody?!" She yelled, pushing Lip to the ground. "He turned her down and told me what happened."

Lip glanced up at Karen. "Yeah, cause he's a fucking pussy."

Another kick to his stomach, and Lip was down again. "Fuck you!" Karen shouted.

Fiona handed her coffee mug off to Adam and rushed over to try to protect her younger brother. "Hey, hey!" Fiona yelled, putting herself between the furious blonde and her brother.

"Stay the fuck away from me! Stay the fuck away from Jody!" Karen added another kick to his stomach.

Ian had gotten out of the pool and rushed over to hold Karen back. Tessa hadn't even felt him leave her side. She walked through the water and leaned against the pool. Kev was half laughing and half concerned and she could see just concern on V and Debbie's faces. No doubt Kevin had no idea what Karen and Lip had been going through.

"And stay the fuck away from this baby!" Karen managed to get out of Ian's grip but that was likely due to him freezing up at what Karen had just said.

Tessa felt herself tense and her jaw dropped but she moved her hand to cover her mouth in disbelief. Everyone sort of stood still and couldn't believe what Karen had just said.

Lip had been insistent on keeping Karen in his life, and now that's exactly what he would be getting.

 **A:N/ And that's the end of episode four! I've found that trying to break each chapter up into an episode works the best for me. Some things from an episode might be missing and some things might be new. Obviously I don't really focus on scenes that Tessa isn't in, since she is my main character. Let me know what you guys think! ALSO – what are your opinions about smut? Not that it's coming up soon, but whenever/if Lip and Tessa hook up I'm not sure if you guys want the smut, or just some light smut with it implying what happened. Please let me know what you guys think and want.**


	7. SEVEN

**A:N/ YOU GUYS! I'm so happy to see more of you sending me reviews. When I get notifications telling me I have some, it makes me want to write more. Also – last night I came up with this epic storyline but it won't be happening for a while. Just know that something amazing is coming. OH! And I am perfectly comfortable writing smut, but I just wanted to check with you guys. Then again, if you're reading Shameless you should be used to smut.**

" _That's going to make things a little more difficult for Lip to get over Karen."_

Ian's words echoed in Tessa's mind. He was right. There was no way Lip would be able to stay away from Karen now. Then again, Ian had told Tessa there was a chance the baby didn't belong to Lip. Tessa hoped that was the case since having a baby with Karen would tie him to her for life. She doubted Lip would care if Karen still married Jody.

She was furious and she didn't know why. Then again, Tessa never really needed a reason to be angry. She had angry phases and maybe she was entering one at the same time as this baby drama. That's what Tessa had to tell herself.

Being cooped up in her apartment wasn't going to help her at all. She slipped on some jean shorts, a tank top and a flannel long-sleeve that she rolled up to her elbows. The flannel wasn't cotton, but instead lighter material. She knew it was probably too hot for something over her tank top but she didn't care.

Tessa ran a hand through her long dark hair and walked down the sidewalk. Fiona was off on some fancy date that day and there was a barbeque going on in the Gallagher's neighborhood. She didn't feel like going to see anyone today but she didn't want to stay cooped up in her apartment.

She walked and walked until she wasn't really sure where she was. Someone spoke and she looked up to see who it was. The voice was fairly close and she sat a guy leaning against his car that was parked on the side of the street.

Normally she would ignore him and keep walking, but without even thinking about it she walked up to him to talk. She zoned out through their conversation but eventually she found herself leading him down the small alley next to a house.

He pushed her up against the brick wall but before he could do anything else she brought her knee up to his crotch. He yelped in pain and Tessa felt her anger grow. She had been forced to go to anger management in high school due to her anger issues and all the fights she had been in. But all of the things she had learned were no longer in her mind. She just had to punch someone, or something.

The guy yelped in pain and fell down to the ground slightly. Tessa went to kick him again but he grabbed her ankle and pushed her back, knocking her head onto the brick wall. He backhanded her across the face and she felt blood on her lip.

He hadn't been expecting Tessa to retaliate after what he had done, but she threw a punch his way landing on his jaw. She couldn't even feel the pain on her knuckles. While he was still feeling the punch she kneed him in the crotch again, this time making him completely fall to the ground. She kicked him a few times in the stomach for good measure until she felt like she had enough. Adrenaline rushed through her veins and she found herself breathing heavy, trying to catch her breath from the energy she had just released.

The man groaned and rolled over onto his back. Tessa kicked him in the crotch again, just for making it too easy for her.

She left the man in the alley and continued on her walk down the street. She was still angry but a small amount had been released during the fight. She didn't know why she had instigated the fight with a guy who clearly had more than a few inches and pounds on her. But Tessa had always been fast and she had only gotten better at fighting in high school.

About ten minutes later she found herself in the Gallagher's neighborhood. She could see people walking around with beer bottles and food. Had she really walked all the way here? The drive to her apartment was no more than twenty minutes, but it was too far to walk.

She didn't feel like celebrating or having people ask her about her appearance. She hadn't looked at herself but she knew she probably had a split lip at the very least. She subconsciously walked up the back steps of the Gallagher house and let herself inside. No one was downstairs and she was almost thankful. She didn't want to deal with Debbie or Carl. Tessa hoped that Lip wasn't around but she found herself wanting to talk to Ian.

Walking up the stairs Tessa waited to see if she could hear anyone, but she couldn't. "Ian?" she called out. If no one was home then she supposed she would just try to walk back in the general direction of her apartment.

"What?" Ian snapped.

Tessa furrowed her brows at the anger that was evident in Ian's tone. She walked into his bedroom to find him lying on his bed, glaring at the ceiling. "What's wrong?" she asked.

Ian huffed and shook his head. "Fucking Lip." It was enough information for Tessa.

The red head sat up and his eyes went wide upon seeing Tessa. "Jesus Christ. What happened to you?" he asked.

He got up and walked over to her reached out to touch her face but Tessa flinched away. He glanced down and picked up her hands. Tessa allowed him to look at it for a moment before she snatched her hand back. "Nothing," she said lamely.

Ian scowled at Tessa. "That isn't nothing. Your lip is bleeding and your knuckles look like you got into a fight with a brick wall." Tessa let out a soft chuckle. "And lost," Ian added.

"So what did Lip do this time?" Tessa asked, ignoring Ian's concerns.

She was surprised when he didn't press matters further, but was glad that he had let it go for the time being.

"You know how he was helping me get information on West Point?" Ian asked.

Tessa hummed a yes and went to sat on Ian's bed, resting her back against the wall.

"The guy he had been talking to came by today to give him an application. He didn't even know about me. Lip had him thinking _he_ was the one interested in going to West Point." Ian was furious and Tessa watched him pace in his small bedroom.

"Is that why _your_ knuckles look a little beat up?" They weren't nearly as bad as Tessa's, but it was clear that he had gotten into a fight with someone recently.

Ian glanced at his knuckles and let out a chuckle. "I got into a fight with Lip. I told him to go back to his whore, Karen. I can get into West Point without his help."

Tessa pursed her lips to hide the laugh she produced at the idea of Ian calling Karen a whore to Lip's face. She wished she had been a fly on the wall for that one. "Of course you can," Tessa said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "And if you need any help I will be there for you. I'm not sure what you need to accomplish. Hell, I never even graduated high school. But if you have certain things to do before applying to West Point then I'm in."

Ian smiled at Tessa and nodded his head. "Thanks, that means a lot."

She patted the bed next to her and Ian walked over and sat down by her side, leaning against the wall like she was.

"Now are you going to tell me what happened?" Ian asked.

Sighing, Tessa glanced down at her knuckles. "Just a fight. I've apparently had rage issues since middle school. The counselor called them episodes." She rolled her eyes at the lame terms the counselor had thrown her way. As if giving them different names would make anything any better.

"Because of Lip?" Ian asked, confusion on his face.

She chuckled at the idea. "Not really. I think it could have lit the match but it didn't play that large of a role. Sometimes I can get mad and everything is fine. But then there are times where I get mad and I just kind of lose it. I'll hit someone or take a baseball bat to a car. I'll do anything to let this anger take over. But once it's over then it's over. I might feel a little angry after but for the most part I'm content." She shrugged at how messed up it sounded, but there was no way around the truth.

She could see Ian nodding his head out of the corner of her eye. "Lip gets into fights when he gets mad too. It's self-destructive behavior."

Tessa scoffed. "Thanks Doctor Drew."

Ian playfully pushed her shoulder. "I'm not saying that it's the same thing for you."

A few moments passed where neither of them spoke. She was thankful for the silence and thought about how comforting she found Ian's presence to be. She adored being around Fiona and she could be good at comforting her, but Ian could sit next to her and not say a word and it would help her.

"Can I at least give you something to clean that cut and your knuckles?" Ian asked, looking over at him.

Tessa nodded her head and watched as Ian left the room to get some wet washcloths to wash her wounds. When he returned he took Tessa's hands in his own and began to gently pat at the broken skin.

"You're not going to suggest therapy?" Tessa asked with confusion.

Ian scoffed. "Gallaghers don't do therapy."

"I'm not a Gallagher."

He looked up and smiled at her. "No, but you fit in like one. You got Carl to do his homework and you tried talking to Debbie about her whole death obsession. You help without expecting anything in return and that's what Gallaghers do."

A soft smile appeared on her face. Ian's words had touched her. She had never been told she was apart of a family that wasn't her own. Hell, Tessa had never even had a family to begin with. She had no idea who her dad was and her mom had been in and out of her life for a long time. She had no siblings that she knew of, so Tessa had really been on her own. She didn't know what it was like to have a group of people care about you and now that she had experienced it, she felt jealous of those who grew up with that feeling.

"Thanks," she said. "If you ever need a place to escape this madness, you can always come to my place. I was never a fan of roommates and cats are fucking evil."

He laughed at her words and nodded. "Thanks," he said. "I'll keep that in mind."

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A few days passed and Tessa found herself working at the diner more than usual. She had been covering for a waitress who had been sick but she was thankful for the extra money. Fiona had texted her about how her date had been but other than that she hadn't heard from any Gallaghers since she had talked with Ian.

Tessa had just gotten back from work and had taken a quick shower. She walked out into the hallway and tossed her wet hair in a bun. She heard a knock on the door and she walked over, peering through the hole.

Opening it she raised an eyebrow at the guest in front of her. "Uhm. Hi?"

Fiona huffed and pushed past Tessa to get into the apartment. "Come on in," she said sarcastically. She didn't care that Fiona had shown up, but she was a little cranky from work.

"I like your bra," Fiona said with a chuckle.

Tessa glanced down at what she was wearing then looked up at Fiona. "What's up?" she asked.

Fiona collapsed on the couch and huffed. "Well where do I begin? Steve's back and my psychotic grandmother moved in the other day. Lip disappeared for a few days and he and Ian have some shit going on between them. Karen got married so I'm thinking that pushed Lip over the edge. Debbie's crushing on a boy and Carl is learning con tricks from our grandmother."

Tessa raised her brows and sat down on the chair next to the couch. It had only been a few days but so much had happened.

Fiona inhaled deeply before letting the breath out. "What happened to your lip?"

Her hand went up to touch the cut. It had started to heal but you could still see it. "Oh, uh, nothing."

Normally Fiona would have argued but she was just too tired. "Lip and Ian are my rocks. If they're fighting I just feel even more exhausted than usual. Any way you could talk to Lip?"

Tessa crossed her arms across her chest and frowned. "Why do I have to talk to him?" she asked.

Fiona scoffed. "Weren't you two making out at Kev's Hawaiian bar party last week?"

Shit. Tessa had forgotten about filling Fiona in about what had happened. She sighed. "That was to try and make Karen jealous. She hadn't been engaged at the time and he just seemed so mopey. I thought it would help. Clearly, it didn't."

The eldest Gallagher pursed her lips and nodded. "Well thanks. I've tried talking to him and he's pretty stubborn about this whole thing. I mean, she's pregnant and the kid might not even be his!" Fiona threw her hands in the air.

"I'm doing a double date with Steve tomorrow. He's got a new girl and I'm going to bring Adam," Fiona confessed.

Tessa nodded. "Well that should be interesting."

"Sorry for barging in," Fiona apologized. "I just needed a place to crash for a minute. Veronica is out with Kev otherwise I'd go there."

"No, it's okay." Tessa shook her head, insisting that Fiona hadn't been a burden. "I was just trying to settle down from work. The assholes were higher than normal tonight."

"I gotta go," Fiona said, standing up. "I'm working tomorrow after that stupid double date, but I'll text you. Otherwise I'll see you in a few days, okay?"

Tessa rose from her seat and nodded her head. "Okay. I won't talk to Lip but I'll talk to Ian. I think Lip fucked something up dealing with West Point and Ian called Karen a whore. I'm pretty sure that's what Ian said when I talked to him the other day."

Fiona smiled and nodded. "Thanks Tessa, I really appreciate it."

Fiona walked out the door and headed home to deal with all the issues she had. Tessa locked the door behind Fiona and leaned against it. She thought trying to deal with assholes at work was a lot, but she had no idea what she had gotten herself into.

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Tessa got into her car. She really needed groceries and if she didn't go now then she would be living off of the stale saltines in her nightstand for the next few days. Her phone buzzed and she glanced down to see a text from Ian.

 _Lip showed up to the wedding._

"Fuck," Tessa swore. She hadn't been able to sort things between the brothers, but she had gone out to lunch with Ian to escape from work and his family.

She swore some more while she started the car. Now she wasn't going to be able to get groceries. She sped off towards the Gallagher's house and parked in front of their house. She started to walk down the street towards the house that was hosting the wedding, but saw Lip approaching her on the sidewalk. He was rubbing the side of his face but he looked drunk.

"Lip," Tessa said slowly as she approached him.

He hadn't seen her approaching him or didn't care to acknowledge her. When he finally did he rolled his eyes and scoffed. "What the fuck do you want?" he asked. Lip pushed past her and walked towards his house.

Tessa turned around and followed behind Lip. She didn't know why she was even bothering. She didn't know why she had even shown up. She ran a hand through her hair and huffed in annoyance.

Lip walked up the front steps and opened the door, but instead of slamming it in Tessa's face like she thought, he left it open.

He walked inside and collapsed on the couch. He closed his eyes and ran a hand over his face. "I told her to get an abortion."

Tessa's eyes went wide but she pursed her lips. She had to be careful with what she said, especially since Lip was clearly drunk.

"I'm guessing that didn't go well," she said. Tessa walked over and sat down on the chair near the couch.

He laughed and Tessa became a little concerned. It wasn't a sarcastic laugh. It was an actual laugh, but she chalked it up to him being drunk. "No, she slapped me," he said.

Tessa reached into her bag and pulled out a bottle of water. She rose from her spot on the chair and sat on the edge of the couch near Lip's waist. "Did she slap some sense into you?" Tessa asked. She nudged him and handed him the water bottle.

He laughed again. "I doubt it." He took a sip of the water and put his head back down, but kept his eyes open.

"You're too fucking nice sometimes. It's annoying as shit," Lip said.

Tessa smirked and shrugged her shoulders. "Only when it annoys you," she said.

He scoffed and nodded his head. He took another sip of the water before sitting up slightly. "So where's my peace offering? Last time you brought some pretty good weed."

Her mouth dropped open and she laughed. She punched him playfully in the stomach. "I didn't do anything!"

"You bailed on your promise to help," he pointed out.

She shook her head, laughing at how ridiculous Lip was being. But, she was glad he had a sense of humor, even if it was just for the moment. "I promised to help make her jealous. I didn't promise to jump your bones."

"It was implied."

Tessa patted Lip's hand. "I thought you were supposed to be smart?" She raised an eyebrow as a challenge.

Lip scoffed. "Yeah, me too."

 **A:N/ What did you guys think? I really wanted to showcase the anger issues that Tessa has. This was partially due to the whole baby incident, but she really does get these spurts of anger that she doesn't know how to control. I'm trying to develop her personality outside of how she interacts with the Gallaghers. Remember, reviews get faster updates!**


	8. EIGHT

**A:N/ Thanks so much for the reviews! It made me a very happy lady when I woke up to see several reviews and even some private messages. Like many of you, I also can't stand Karen. However, I don't see me deviating from her and Lip's storyline in the second season too much. I think it's a really important storyline that adds that other dimension to Lip. But fear not – Tessa will continuously wiggle her way into Lip's life.**

Tessa walked through the back door of the Gallagher's house and saw Debbie and Ian in the living room. Ian was doing sit ups while Debbie appeared to be looking through some new clothes she had just bought. Shit. Tessa had promised to take Debbie shopping for her fake birthday but she had been so slammed with work she had forgotten.

"Hey guys," Tessa said, walking into the living room. She held out a backpack for Debbie. "This was mine in high-school. As you can see, I barely used it. I wasn't sure if you wanted it?" It was styled more like the knapsacks that were in style these days, but they had a ton of tribal patterns on it. Tessa had actually drawn all of them on herself, but they looked like they had always been there.

"Whoa really?!" Debbie grabbed the backpack and looked it over.

Tessa sat on the arm of the couch. "And no one will have anything like it. I drew all those things on it."

Ian smirked and raised an eyebrow at Tessa. "Thought you were done drawing?"

She picked up a pillow and chucked it at his head. "I did that in high-school idiot."

He laughed and went back to doing his sit ups. "Will you help me pick an outfit for the first day of school? Ian isn't really helping," Debbie asked.

Tessa laughed and nodded her head. "Sure. Show me what you got."

Debbie began to go through the two or three outfits that she had picked out. Tessa knew how important it was for Debbie to look good for her first day of school. Tessa had never cared about those sort of things, but would give some effort for Debbie's sake.

"I like all of them Debbie," Tessa said. "I really like that pink top though."

She looked down at the other bag she had brought and tossed it on top of Ian. "Here ass-hat. I was cleaning out my closet and found all of these. An ex left them behind and more than half of them still have the tags on them. Figured you could have some clothes of your own that weren't previously worn. Well, at least the majority of them weren't."

Ian opened the bag and ruffled through it before nodding, impressed. "Thanks, T."

Debbie scoffed. "He was just complaining about all the hand-me-downs he had to wear from Lip."

A minute later Lip walked through the door and Debbie grinned at the appearance of her older brother.

"Oh good! You're here. I'm trying to make a good impression for my last day of elementary school. Tessa gave me her opinion, but I'm in need of a second one just to make sure." Debbie put her hands on her hips.

"Red top, blue shorts." Lip pointed to the clothes on the couch. "New backpack?" Lip asked.

Debbie grinned. "It was Tessa's. Isn't it cool?"

Lip nodded and leaned on the couch. "Karen and I are getting back together. She ditched Jody. Now I can step up, be a father to our kid."

Tessa had to bite her tongue to make sure she didn't say anything she would regret. She heard Ian scoff from his spot on the floor.

Debbie began to move her clothes back into the bags. "Why? What's wrong with Jody?" she asked.

"He's a tool."

Debbie frowned. "He is?"

Lip hummed a positive response and Debbie sighed. "How will I know if I'm dating a tool?"

Lip nodded. "You'll figure it out. Or I'll beat the shit out of him for you," he said.

"Okay. Cool." Debbie nodded and ran upstairs with her clothes and backpack in hand.

Lip glanced at the bag of clothes Ian had set off to the side and he looked at Tessa. "What? No clothes for me?"

Tessa glared and scoffed. "Eat a dick," she spat before standing up and walking into the kitchen to get a cup of water.

Lip began to follow her but Ian scoffed a, "Pathetic." This caused Lip to immediately turn around and head back into the living room.

"Ladies and gentlemen, he speaks!" Lip announced.

Ian stood up and grabbed a towel to wipe some sweat off. "You could have anything you want. This is the life you choose?"

"I'm not gonna split on my kid like Frank."

"Fucking waste," Ian spat, walking into the kitchen.

"You know what?" Lip began. "You're the one pretending to date Mandy so you can fuck her brother."

Ian was gay? Tessa dismissed the revelation, not caring about Ian's sexual orientation. She just wanted Ian to knock some sense into Lip. Either that, or she wanted them to sort through this shit.

"You know, even the Pentagon says it's okay to be gay, but you're too chicken-shit to let anyone know." Lip pointed into the kitchen at Tessa. "Like her? I bet she had no idea."

Ian scowled. "Don't bring her into this. At least I'm not getting trapped by some pregnant skank!"

Lip shoved Ian. "Fuck you."

Ian pushed his arm out of the way, not really phased by how angry Lip was getting. Tessa had to say that she was impressed with how Ian controlled his anger. "You'll probably quite high school, huh? Start working at Best Buy."

"What your fucking mouth!" Lip went to punch Ian again, but Ian was able to dodge it.

"I wonder how long it takes before you start huffing glue." The two began to shove at one another and Ian pinned Lip against the wall.

"Hey! Hey!" An old woman walked into the house with Carl trailing behind her. "Put all that Sudafed down in the basement, Carl."

Tessa watched Carl disappear and furrowed her brow in confusion. So this was what Fiona had been talking about? Carl was learning how to make meth.

"I know whats going on here. Saw it with my own boys." The old woman walked into the living room and sat on the arm of the couch. Tessa wanted to listen but didn't dare walk into the living room. She preferred to stay in the background on this one.

"One of the lions has to leave the den. Strongest one's got to push the other one out, or eat him. Only one way to resolve this, somebody's got to bleed. Fight it out. See whose alpha wolf." The woman nodded and Tessa had to try to ignore how nonchalant this conversation seemed to be.

"I'll kick your fuckin' ass," Lip said.

Ian scoffed. "You won't last two minutes."

"No knives, no guns, no bricks. Just fists."

"Tomorrow?" Lip proposed.

"Labor day. I work till five."

Lip nodded. "At six then, under the L."

"Okay," Ian said as he turned to leave out the back door and Lip ran upstairs. Tessa pursed her lips and followed Ian outside.

She wanted to ask if he was okay but knew that it was a stupid idea. Instead she followed him and didn't speak up until they were at the side of the house. "You can come crash with me," Tessa offered. She kept any pity out of her voice.

"Thanks," Ian said with a sigh. "I'll probably do that if you don't mind. I'll kill him in his sleep."

Tessa chuckled and nodded her head. "I don't blame you," she said.

"Uhm." Ian kept walking but didn't turn around. "Sorry I didn't tell you I was…gay."

She scoffed and shook her head. "Why? I didn't tell you I was straight."

Ian stopped and smiled at her, nodding his head. They walked next to one another now. "Do you want me to go grab some of your things from your room or something?" she asked.

Ian shook his head. "I'm sure he'll be running over to Karen's soon. I'll go grab some stuff then," he said.

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Fiona walked into the diner and Tessa waved before pointing towards an empty booth. She had Carl and Liam with her and Tessa ran out back to grab Fiona and Carl a drink. She walked out and placed them on the table and Carl immediately began to suck his down.

"What's going on?" Tessa asked. Not that she didn't love the company, but she had no idea why Fiona had showed up at the diner.

Fiona scoffed and ran a hand through her hair. "Well Ian and Lip are back on good terms but that's about the only good thing that's happened. Lip dropped out of school with one year left to go. Carl," Fiona said with a glare. "Blew up a meth lab in our basement."

Tessa's eyes went wide and she looked at Carl. "Come on dude! I thought we had an agreement about blowing shit up?" Tessa put a hand on her hip.

"Grammy was teaching me a life skill she said," Carl tried.

"I think you can get a better life skill that wont end up with you dead or in jail," Tessa pointed out. "What do you guys want?" Tessa asked.

Fiona shook her head. "It's okay we didn't come here for food," she said.

"I did," Carl piped up. Fiona glared but Tessa waved her hand at Fiona.

"Dude, it's fine. There's practically no one in here."

Carl ordered a large amount of food and Fiona reluctantly ordered a sandwich.

Once she put the order in, Tessa came and pushed Carl further into his booth so she could sit across from Fiona.

"Steve, who's real name is Jimmy, is married."

Her eyebrows shot up. "The hell?"

Fiona pursed her lips and nodded. She could tell that she wanted to talk more but with Carl sitting there, she didn't want to reveal too much. Carl could be a little shit when he wanted to, which was practically all the time.

"Drop Liam off with Sheila tomorrow and we'll talk?" Tessa suggested.

She sighed and nodded. "Okay. V's been going through shit with Ethel running off so I didn't want to burden her with this shit," Fiona explained.

"Do you think you'll get Lip to go back to school?" Tessa asked.

Fiona shrugged. "We made a deal that if he goes back so will I, but I'm going to try to get my GED. I'm just hoping he doesn't see that as a deal breaker. I don't have the time to get the thirty-eight credits I would need."

"I have my GED. I can help you study, but they're pretty easy and I took it when I was sixteen."

"Where's my food?" Carl asked.

Tessa flicked Carl on the ear before getting up from her seat to go check.

"Next time I bring food over for everyone, you're getting steamed vegetables," Tessa said before she walked away to get their food.

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Tessa sat on the couch with Fiona. Carl had a football scrimmage later that they were going to, but until then they were going to hang out and discuss Fiona's shit.

"So he's married to some whore who doesn't speak English, and he just expects you two to get back together?" Tessa asked.

Fiona scoffed and nodded. "Yep."

"What a dick," she said. "So what are you gonna do?"

"I don't know." Fiona's voice sounded sad and she glanced over to see one of her best friends on the verge of tears. Tessa wasn't one for showing affection, but she didn't even think twice before she scooted over and wrapped an arm around Fiona. She rested her head on Tessa's shoulder but kept her tears in.

A knock on the door caused Fiona to sit up and rub her eyes. She walked over to the door and a man walked in that Tessa had never seen before.

"Miss Gallagher?" The man asked.

Fiona furrowed her brows. "Yeah. Come on in."

The men stepped into the living room and nodded a short greeting at Tessa. "I didn't know if you remembered me," he said.

"Of course, Mr. Healey. How are you?" Fiona asked.

He chuckled. "Well, one more year till full pension, then its taillights."

Fiona nodded, impressed. "Congrats. What's up?"

"Lip's been expelled." Tessa's eyebrows shot up. Well it looked like his deal with Fiona hadn't exactly worked out.

"What?" Fiona exclaimed.

"Threw a chair through a window," he said.

"Come on. Expelled?"

Mr. Healey sighed. "Smoking dope in the bathroom, telling teachers to eff off. But I called around to a few friends. I used to coach wrestling over at Mckinley. They'll take him, but they wont put up with any of his smart-ass stuff." He handed Fiona a card and she gladly took it.

"Thank you, Mr. H." She could hear the appreciation in Fiona's voice.

"Don't let him screw it up, Fiona." And with that Mr. Healey walked out the door and Fiona turned to look at Tessa.

Tessa didn't know what to say. Fiona was probably around twenty-three and she had so much to deal with. She had no idea what it would be like to be in Fiona's shoes for simply a day. She would have offered to talk to Lip but she knew he wouldn't listen to her anymore than he would his own sister.

"We have to go. Carl's game starts soon," Fiona said, shoving the card into her pocket.

Tessa took the hint that Fiona didn't want to talk about Lip's expulsion and the two went off to watch Carl's game.

When they got there, Tessa sat on the bleachers next to Fiona. She pointed out Steve's wife sitting a few rows ahead of them. Tessa had to admit, the girl was gorgeous. But she still thought it was wrong for him to be parading her around like this. The signals he was sending were so fucked up, at least in Tessa's opinion. She watched him pace back and forth as he called out to the kids running around on the field.

"Go Carl!" Tessa yelled out.

Fiona tucked her phone in her pocket after leaving Lip a message on his phone. She snapped out of her seemingly bad mood when Carl tackled some kid to the ground.

"Yes! Go, Carl! Good job, buddy!" Fiona shouted, rising from the bleachers to stand.

Tessa clapped and hollered with Fiona. She didn't like the idea of Steve coaching this team, but she was glad that Carl was able to play football. Tessa hoped it would help him release some of his violence.

 **A:N/ Alright. I'm not really a fan of this chapter but it was something. Lip leaves home later that night after Carl's game, but I didn't want Tessa to be there again. She's already there a lot but my guess is she had to work. I have to keep in mind that she has to work crappy jobs to keep her crappy apartment. But the next chapter will deal with Lip leaving and I'm pretty sure Monica comes back, if I'm not mistaken. As I've mentioned before, I'm keeping season two pretty close to how it actually happened. Season three will get a little more AU as I plan to develop more storylines revolving specifically around Tessa. What did you guys think?**


	9. NINE

**A:N/ Sorry for no Lip/Tessa stuff in the last chapter, really. This** **should** **have some but I can't be positive since I haven't re-watched the next episode. Reviews get faster updates!**

She couldn't believe it. Why did people insist on waking her up so early? She glanced at the clock. It was nearly eleven in the morning and this time it wasn't someone calling her phone. This time is was someone knocking on her door.

She put a pair of shorts on and walked down the hallway, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

Tessa opened the door and saw Lip standing there with a bag on his shoulder. Fiona had texted her that Lip had left after refusing to go back to school.

"Hey," Lip said. "You mind?"

Tessa moved and allowed him in before shutting the door. Fiona was her best friend. She felt like letting Lip crash there would be betraying Fiona. But she didn't even know Lip was there to ask for a place to stay.

He dropped his bag and sat on the back of the couch. "Fiona kick me out," he said.

"Because you refused to go back to school," she pointed out.

"You're on her side too? Jesus Christ. I tried staying with Karen and that didn't work. I tried Kev and V and they kicked me out. I'm one stop away from staying on the subway."

Tessa bit the inside of her cheek. Lip looked exhausted.

"Listen to me for a minute. You need to graduate high school. I got my GED because I had no one else to work during the day to keep a roof over my head. I'm going to be working at this diner for the rest of my goddamn life. You wanna work and provide for this kid? Get a good job. You're going to be miserable working at Best Buy for the rest of your life." Tessa folded her arms across her chest and leaned against the door.

"I'm not going to be Frank," he snapped.

"I thought Karen was giving this kid up for adoption anyway?"

He ran a hand through his hair. "If I can show her I can provide for her and this kid, I think she might keep it."

Tessa snorted at his logic. "And when she runs off with another random guy in five years? You'll be stuck with a kid and no diploma."

Lip scoffed. "Are you gonna be an asshole or let me stay here?"

She glared at him. "One. Night." Fiona was gonna kill her.

He nodded his head. "Thanks."

She rolled her eyes and waved her hand in the air in dismissal. Tessa began to walk back down the hall towards her room.

"Where are you going?" Lip called out.

"Back to bed?" She sighed. "I don't feel like arguing with you, Lip."

He nodded. "That's fair. I'll be gone tomorrow. I plan on hitting up Steve for a place to stay. I think he'll take me in to get back at Fiona."

"Why are you telling me this? You know Fiona's one of my best friends," Tessa said. "What's to stop me from telling her?"

Lip shrugged and walked down the hall to meet Tessa. "Nothing. But I know you won't." He stared at her and Tessa recognized that look. It was the one he gave her after she had kissed him at the Alibi to make Karen jealous. She backed up a step.

"No," she said firmly, shaking her head. "You're back with Karen and despite everything I've done I refuse to hook up with someone who's chasing after another girl."

Tessa ran a hand through her hair and walked down the hallway into her room. She closed her door behind her and got back into bed, even though she knew she wouldn't be able to fall back asleep.

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" _Why does shit always seem to blow up at the same time?"_

Tessa sighed. "Because that's how life works," Tessa said into the phone. She had been unable to attend Carl's game with everyone because of work. Lip had been asleep on the couch when she had left her apartment for work. She was on her break and had called Fiona to see how things were.

Monica was back and Tessa shuttered at the idea. She would hate it if her mom came back. Tessa knew about the last time Monica had shown up and how she had tried to take Liam away from them. Fiona said that it seemed Monica was on the right track for the time being, but she wasn't going to hope it would last; it never did.

" _Lip's staying with Steve,"_ Fiona said with a scoff.

She pursed her lips. She was glad that Lip had found somewhere else to go but still felt strange not telling Fiona that she had let Lip crash at her place, even if it had only been for half of a day.

" _It's like he thinks this will get back into my good graces. Do you know what he said to me? He said that he took Lip in hoping that I would come storming over there to yell at him. I mean, what does he think that would accomplish?"_ Tessa could picture Fiona walked back and forth, furious at the situation.

"No I agree. I think he needs to stay out of your business, but I also think Lip needs to go back to school. Unfortunately, I don't think that's going to happen. Especially now that Karen and Jody are no longer together. Lip see's that as a way to fix things with Karen," Tessa explained. "How are things going with the GED?"

Fiona appreciated her trying to change the subject but she couldn't forget about all the shit going on. _"It's okay. My teacher told me to do this GED thing and then try to do some college classes. Then I could get into marketing."_

She could hear the small amount of excitement Fiona was trying to hide and Tessa smiled. "Good! You'd be so good at that. Get a steady job that you enjoy doing," she said.

Tessa frowned and looked at the back door into the diner. "I'm doing doubles for the next week or two. We are still down a waitress and I need some extra money to stash away. I haven't been too good about doing that lately. So I probably won't see you for a while." She hated the idea of not seeing any of the Gallaghers for an extended period of time. It was strange how attached she had become to that family.

"But if you need to come crash at my place to get away from Monica or whatever, then you're more than welcome."

" _Thanks,"_ Fiona said. _"She seems better but…you can never be sure."_

"I think you should take advantage of her being home and being responsible-ish. Get some things done that you haven't been able to. Hell, do something for yourself."

She heard Fiona laughed and she chuckled in return. The two said their goodbyes and promised to keep in touch via text for the next few weeks. Tessa just hoped Fiona would be okay. She hoped that Lip would go home and go back to school, but she knew that was unlikely.

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A couple weeks had passed since Tessa had last talked to Fiona on the phone. She hadn't really gotten any updates other than Ian telling her that Mickey went back to juvie. Perhaps it was a good thing that she hadn't heard from them. Tessa had been so busy with work and other things that she wouldn't have been able to give them the proper attention anyway.

She walked out of the consignment store and down the sidewalk to where she had parked her car. Tessa placed the bags in the back seat and glanced up when she saw a police car slow down. She could have sworn they had called out the name Gallagher. Sure enough she saw Lip coming down the stairs after taking the L and talking to the officers. They sped away and Lip turned to run up the stairs from where he had just came.

"Lip!" Tessa called out. She had no idea if he would even hear her, but she figured it was worth a shot. It seemed like something was wrong and she wanted to make sure it wasn't anything awful.

He heard her and turned to see her. Relief washed over his face and he ran towards her. "Hey can I get a ride home?" He asked quickly. "It's an emergency."

Tessa nodded and went around to the driver's side while Lip got into the passengers seat. She took off towards the Gallagher house. The train was usually quicker, but it was a good time of the day where Tessa wouldn't have any issues with traffic.

"What's going on?" she asked.

Lip scoffed and shook his head. "Fucking Monica."

Those two words were enough to let Tessa know that something bad had happened. She should have checked in with at least one of the Gallaghers during the past few weeks. She had almost forgotten about their mother showing up again. She knew that if her mom had shown up, she wouldn't have survived two weeks on her own.

"She's in jail. She did something stupid while she was with Carl."

Tessa scowled. "Bitch," she muttered. Carl was the youngest, other than Liam, and he could easily be influenced. What little boy wouldn't be glad to spend time with his mother?

"What do you need to go home for?" Tessa asked.

"Bail money," Lip replied. "I'll have to dig into the squirrel fund." He did not seem pleased. She had no idea what the squirrel fund was, but guessed that it was where they put all their money to manage their bills.

She nodded her head. "I'll drive you to the station after," Tessa said.

Lip looked over at her for the first time since they had gotten into the car. "Thanks," he said.

Tessa pulled up in front of the Gallagher house and Lip told her to stay in the car and that he would be right back. Five minutes. Ten minutes. He was taking longer than he should have been and Tessa grew concerned. Shutting off her car she stepped out and went inside.

She saw Lip yelling at Frank and telling him to turn his pockets inside out. He looked over to see Tessa and she prepared herself for him to yell at her, but he didn't. "It's all fucking gone!" Lip shouted.

Shit. Tessa knew that was not a good thing. Where was Fiona? Tessa ran upstairs to see if she was around but only found Debbie in her room with piles of American Girl Dolls.

"What are all these?" Tessa asked.

Debbie scoffed. "Monica bought them. I didn't have the heart to tell her I don't play with dolls anymore." American Girl Dolls were expensive. Tessa had always been jealous of the girls in her grade school whenever they brought one in for show-and-tell.

"Debbie," Tessa began. "Do you know where Monica got the money for these?"

Debbie shook her head and Tessa pursed her lips. She had a pretty good idea where the money had come from.

She walked out the room into the hallway and yelled for Lip. He came running up the stairs. He was still angry but was more focused on trying to figure out where the money went. Tessa nodded towards the mass amount of bags in Debbie's room. "I think I found some of that squirrel fund money."

Lip yelled and slammed his hand on the wall, causing Debbie to jump.

"Debbie we have to return these," Lip said, lowering his voice once he realized that he had probably scared his little sister.

"Okay," she agreed. "But what's wrong?" Tessa was impressed and how easily Debbie had been able to give up all of these dolls. Then again, she had said she didn't play with dolls anymore.

"Monica took the money. The squirrel fund is completely gone," Lip said.

Tessa, Lip and Debbie began to gather the bags of dolls. Debbie hadn't pulled any of them out so their job was a little easier.

Once they had loaded the bags into the bag of Tessa's car, they took off towards the store to return them. Tessa had been smart enough to find the receipt in the mess before they had left the house.

After they had returned them to the very rude cashier, they sped off towards the jail to money the one grand on releasing Monica from jail.

"You can stay in the car," Lip said, opening the door to leave.

Tessa shook her head and turned off the car. "I'm coming with you." She left no room for argument.

They walked inside and an officer, Tessa guessed the one who had flagged Lip down in the first place, approached them. He explained that Monica had let Carl drive and that they had gotten into an accident, but that he had told his Lieutenant that Monica had been driving under the influence. They paid the money and went out back to find Carl.

Tessa was furious that Monica had put Carl's life in danger, even if he had been the one to ask to drive the car. The kid was almost eleven and Monica should have known better.

Tessa stayed off to the side as Lip walked over to Carl and asked him if he was okay. He had a few scratches on his face but he was mellow so Tessa assumed he probably got a concussion. She was tempted to convince Lip to leave Monica in jail but decided to keep her mouth shut. Carl walked over to Tessa and she wrapped an arm around the kid while Lip talked to the officer supervising the cell that Monica was in.

When he was done he ushered Carl and Tessa out of the room. "We aren't waiting for Monica?" Carl asked.

Lip shook his head and offered Carl a smile. "Nah buddy. We've got to get you home. Monica will get home just fine."

She knew that Lip was lying about being sure Monica would get home fine, but it was one of those necessary evil lies that you told little kids to make them feel better. Carl announced that he had to go into the bathroom.

Lip and Tessa leaned against a wall while they waited and Lip closed his eyes. She could see him trying to get rid of all his anger but it wasn't really working.

"Hitting things usually helps me," Tessa said with a low chuckle. She raised her hand and looked at the healing wounds on her knuckles. For the most part they were gone, but it was still apparent that damage had been done to them.

"What happened?" Lip asked.

Tessa shrugged. "I got angry. It happens."

Lip gave her an odd look, as if he was trying to figure her out. A moment later he grabbed the hand they had been looking at and held it down by their sides. "Thanks," he said. "I know you're probably still pissed at me but it made this a little easier."

She smiled and squeezed his hand. "You may be making a lot of stupid fucking choices lately, Lip. But you have to know that if you need help, I'll be there."

He chuckled and looked down at his feet. "Yeah. Sorry I didn't bring the peace offering this time. I figured bringing a joint into a police station wasn't the smartest move."

"Now you start making good decisions?" Tessa joked, nudging his side with her elbow.

They chuckled and Carl came out of the bathroom. Lip dropped Tessa's hand and they walked out to her car so they could head home. She could tell that Lip was still mad but that he seemed slightly better. She thought that Carl being hurt had made him calm down and seeing Debbie at home would likely help as well. Tessa couldn't stay to help Lip clean the house but he had insisted that it was fine and that he didn't need her help with that. He said he would wait until Fiona got home. Carl and Lip said goodbye after Tessa dropped them off and she glanced down at her phone. If she was a good friend, she would warn Fiona about the tornado waiting for her at home.

 **A:N/ I know this is kind of short but I actually like this chapter! We got to see more Lip/Tessa stuff and see their relationship take a small step forward. The baby is coming in the next chapter! Remember, reviews get faster updates.**


	10. TEN

**A:N/ Has anyone else taken notice of the peace offering between Tessa and Lip in previous chapters? I'm thinking this peace joint is kind of like their thing (like 'okay' is for Gus and Hazel in Fault in Our Stars). Remember, reviews get updates!**

Thanksgiving was tomorrow and she actually had the day off. For some reason the diner was closed on Thanksgiving, which surprised her considering her boss always tried to make money off of people. But he wanted to drive down to see his family and Tessa could use a little R and R.

Not that she was celebrating Thanksgiving. She had no family to be thankful for. She supposed she would grab some food from the diner to eat on her own. That and some alcohol and she would be set. She didn't need family. She was better off on her own.

It had been a few days since the incident with Monica and Carl but she hadn't heard from anyone. Fiona sent her a thank you text for helping Lip and that she would talk to her when she could. Tessa didn't take the lack of communication personally. She knew that Fiona was dealing with shit and she would give her the time she needed, just as she hoped Fiona would give her time to handle her issues.

Tessa had a life outside of the Gallaghers, she really did. But as of late she was having a hard time remembering something she had done for fun that didn't involve any of them. She had never had many friends. She still saw Sam at work all the time but any other friends she had were through Fiona.

Her phone rang and she saw it was Fiona. She answered it with a simple hello.

" _Hey I just wanted to double check to make sure you were coming to Thanksgiving tomorrow,"_ Fiona said.

She furrowed her brows in confusion. "What do you mean? This is the first time Thanksgiving has been mentioned to me." Not to mention Thanksgiving was a time for family. Fiona had plenty of family.

" _Of course you're invited. You're part of this family, T."_

She smiled and bit her lip. She really didn't want to crash their holiday.

" _Veronica and Kev will be there too."_ It was like Fiona could sense Tessa's reluctance.

"Okay," she agreed. "I'll grab some pies from work."

Fiona said goodbye and Tessa sighed. She supposed she had to pick up the pies.

After grabbing them from the diner she went to the Gallaghers. She had fought with her boss at the diner over her paying for the pies. She hardly thought they were worth the money.

She walked inside and saw Debbie and Carl wearing strange turkey hats and she laughed. "Well those are adorable," Tessa said. She handed one bag to Fiona and put the other on the counter.

"What did you bring?" Carl asked.

"Pies!" Tessa exclaimed. "There's six of them in there. Maybe you could have your own if you behave."

Carl's eyes went wide and he grinned. He picked up a gun and went into the living room.

"Uhm…" Tessa said slowly. "So that's a gun."

"Some car drove by and tossed it. Carl shot an eagle with it this morning," Fiona explained.

Steve walked through the back door with a large turkey on his shoulder. "We are not having bald eagle for Thanksgiving. Here." He dropped it on the counter and Debbie and Carl ran forward.

"Whoa! This thing's huge!" Carl exclaimed.

Steve patted Carl on the head. "You're welcome, Tiny Tim."

Fiona grinned and Tessa had to admit that she was surprised she wasn't yelling at Steve for buying her something. Then again, she had been out of touch with her friend for a while. Maybe something had changed?

"What are we supposed to do with this?" Fiona asked.

"Toss it?" Veronica suggested.

Kev came out from the bathroom shaking his head. "Hell, no. Hunt it, kill it, eat it. The hunter's code. There's no way we're gonna let the most sacred symbol of American freedom and individual go to waste."

Tessa chuckled at Kev's statement, mostly because he was so serious about it.

Fiona laughed. "I'll put it in the freezer."

Tessa walked over to Veronica and the two hugged and Kev squeezed her shoulder. "I haven't seen you two in forever," Tessa said.

"Well where has your bitch ass been hiding?" V asked.

Tessa laughed and nodded her head. "Work. We're down a waitress. I was actually going to mention it to you or Fi if either of you needed something. Shit pay, but it's something."

Debbie began to set the table and Tessa walked over to Carl. She bent down and looked at his face. "Nice battle wounds, dude." She gave him a wink and he grinned.

"You think they'll still be there for school on Monday?" He asked.

Tessa laughed and shrugged. "Maybe. Although I'm sure if they're not you'll find another way to get hurt. I'm sure it would be easier for Fiona if you didn't though. But maybe next week after school we can try to blow something up again?" She suggested.

Carl grinned. "Yeah."

Frank walked in the back door with a beer already in his hand. "You better not have started without me!"

"Frank?" Fiona asked.

"Daddy!" Debbie exclaimed.

"You're gonna come to dinner?" Carl asked.

Frank raised his beer. "Of course I am son. And so is your mother." He walked through the living room and towards the stairs. Tessa hadn't seen anyone else that might be Fiona's mom.

"Lithium?" Fiona asked.

"Moni," Frank said. He bent down to where Monica had been hiding under the stairs. "I got your medications."

"Mom's under the stairs?"

"How long has she been under there?" Fiona asked, rushing into the living room. Tessa decided to stay in the kitchen, not wanting to get in the way of whatever family business was going down.

"Here you go, sweetheart." Frank handed Monica medication and a beer to wash it down. "Here's your candy. That should do it."

Fiona sighed and walked towards where her mom was hiding. "Get out of there. Get out of there!" She reached in to pry her mom out but she only resisted Fiona's attempts. She finally got her out and standing.

Tessa followed Kev and Veronica into the living room where the table was set up. They tried to make small talk to pretend like they weren't listening, but they definitely were. Tessa leaned against the wall and tried to space out. Maybe she should have stayed home?

"We're all having Thanksgiving together with the kids at the table," Fiona announced, ushering her mom to take a seat at the table.

"That's right," Frank agreed. "You're gonna sit right here. Well then, happy Thanksgiving!" Frank ran a hand through his hair.

Everyone replied with a happy thanksgiving and Fiona began to serve the food. V and Tessa followed her into the kitchen to grab whatever plates they could. Once they all sat Tessa reached for her beer and took a sip. She was sitting next to Ian and wanted to ask why Lip wasn't there, but she knew that it was probably a touchy subject.

Kev walked out with the turkey and everyone cheered. Frank offered to say grace and everyone held hands as he commanded. Tessa had never been religious or said a prayer, so the sensation was a little odd to her. However, she could hardly refuse a tradition when she was someone's guest at a family holiday where she wasn't even family.

"Dear Lord," Frank began. "Thank you for this food that we're about to eat. Thank you for bringing Monica back to me. And please make my brother Clayton burn in hell for all eternity when the time comes. Amen."

Tessa had to fight back a laugh at Frank's prayer but everyone said amen when he was done.

"Are you gonna carve the turkey? I'm starving!" Fiona looked over at Kev.

Everyone began passing plates around and putting mashed potatoes and different foods that one might usually find at a thanksgiving dinner. Tessa wouldn't know, since she had never been to one.

"You okay?" Fiona asked.

Tessa looked up and smiled. "Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

Fiona shrugged and put some vegetables on her plate. "You seemed a little off."

She ran a hand through her hair as she chuckled. "I've never actually been to a thanksgiving dinner before."

Fiona frowned. "Never?" she asked.

Tessa pursed her lips and shook her head.

"Well now you have to come every year. You can't break tradition," Fiona said with a grin and Tessa nodded.

Frank got up to carve the kitchen, saying that it was his duty since he was the man of the house. Monica got up and went into the kitchen but no one paid her any attention. Everyone was too busy pouring food onto their plates.

"Fiona, is Lip coming?" Debbie asked.

"Want me to call him?" Steve asked.

Debbie nodded and stood up to grab another plate across the table.

"Uh, he knows what time we're eating. Mashed potatoes please," Fiona said.

"Who likes dark meat?"

Everyone cheered and began to eat. Debbie's friend, Conrad arrived. Tessa didn't think anyone knew who he was since they seemed to confused, but they welcomed him with open arms regardless.

A sound came from the kitchen and Fiona became confused. "What was that?" She asked. Fiona tossed her napkin on the table and got up to see what the noise had been.

"Holy fuck." Tessa looked up when Kev swore and after that everyone seemed to walk into the kitchen to see what had happened.

Monica was on the floor with blood around her. She had sliced her wrists open and crying. Tessa's hand flew to her mouth and she grabbed Ian's hand.

"Give me a phone!" Fiona exclaimed.

Everyone just sort of stood there, shocked at the situation. No one knew what to do until Veronica started to usher Debbie and Carl upstairs so they didn't have to see Monica like this.

Tessa looked up at Ian and saw that he was distraught, like any normal person would be at seeing their mother sliced up on the kitchen floor.

Steve rushed forward and held onto her wrists to stop the bleeding, but it didn't work. Blood continued to pour from her wrists and Steve grabbed as many towels as he could while Fiona called 911.

Frank even had his hand over his mouth in disbelief. No one had seen this coming.

Steve yelled for Frank to get towels but he wasn't moving. Ian pulled away from Tessa's hand and grabbed some towels from a nearby drawer, handing them to Steve.

"Frank, they want to know if she took any pills." Fiona waited for him to answer but he didn't. "Dad! Dad?!"

Finally he seemed to snap out of it and shook his head. "I'm not sure," Fiona said into the phone.

Frank walked out of the kitchen and Tessa watched him walk out the front door. She turned to look at Fiona who had tears in her eyes, as did Ian.

Fiona wrapped her arms around Ian's neck and pulled him close and Tessa stood on the other side of Ian, grasping onto his hand.

Kev went forward and started to help Steve since Frank had just disappeared. He tried convincing her that she would be okay and that she was fine, but no one seemed to actually believe it.

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Everyone sat in the waiting room in silence. Fiona had told Tessa, Kev and Veronica to go home but none of them had listened.

Tessa sat next to Ian and she watched as Steve paced.

"Holy fuck," Kev swore.

"Dude, if you say that one more time I'm gonna throw you in the oven with that turkey when we get home, okay?" Steve snapped.

"Okay, okay." Kev raised his hands in defense.

Someone called for Fiona and she got up to see what the nurse had to say. Ian, Carl and Veronica all rushed forward too, but Steve held Debbie back and told her to stay behind.

Tessa grabbed Debbie's shoulders and squeezed them to attempt to comfort her.

"Holy fuck!" Kev swore.

Apparently Lip had called and was already at the hospital because Karen had gone into labor. Everyone began springing upstairs looking for the maternity ward. Debbie went on and on about how she was going to be an aunt.

Tessa kept up with everyone but at this point felt like she didn't belong. She honestly felt awkward thinking about celebrating Lip losing so many opportunities in life.

Everyone got into scrubs and went into the hospital room. Ian turned and gave Tessa a funny look. "You're not coming?" he asked.

She shook her head and leaned against the wall in the hallway. "Not a fan of blood," she lied.

Ian didn't believe her and she knew it. He had seen how calm she had been all beat up a few weeks ago after having an anger episode. But, he let it go and offered her a small smile before disappearing with everyone else in the delivery room.

Tessa chipped at her nails and slid down the wall, sitting on the floor. She should just go home. She wasn't needed there and they would understand that she had to go home. She could lie and say that she was tired, and people would have to believe her.

She saw Lip leave the room but he didn't see her. He walked down the hall to where a couple was waiting. They began to shake their heads and Tessa knew that something was wrong.

She got up from where she had been sitting and resisted the urge to go and see what was wrong. Fiona appeared in the hallway next and Tessa gave her a questioning glance.

"It's not his," she said.

"How do they know?" Tessa asked.

"He's Asian. And he has down syndrome." Fiona frowned and looked heartbroken, but she knew it was just for what her brother was going through.

"Lip," Fiona called out.

He turned to look at her and didn't say anything. He glanced at Tessa before shaking his head and walking out of the hospital. Fiona went to go after him but Steve held her back, telling her to let him go.

Tessa didn't listen to whatever Steve had said and instead ran after Lip. When she got outside she found him tearing off his scrub clothes and holding a small tape over a trashcan. He began to rip the strands from the tape and tossed it.

"Lip?" Tessa asked softly.

He looked up at her before looking back down at the broken tape in the can. She expected him to ignore her and run off, but instead he stood there with his hand slightly held out.

Tessa jumped at the opportunity and grabbed his hand, squeezing it lightly. Lip tugged and they began to walk in silence down the pathway around the hospital. She didn't need to ask him if he was okay, because she knew he wasn't. She wanted to just make sure he didn't do anything stupid so she made it a point to keep what she did or said to a minimal.

 **A:N/ WHOA! I forgot how intense that whole birth scene was until I just re-watched the episode. I seriously just wanted to hug Lip and hold him! I thought a small moment between them at the end was cute and appropriate given everything Lip had just gone through in that small amount of time. Lip would never fall into Tessa's arms crying. I think the simple gesture spoke volumes. Remember, reviews get faster updates!**


	11. ELEVEN

**A:N/ Last episode of season two! I'm hoping to add a storyline for Tessa after this episode that could eventually take us into season three. Remember, reviews get updates!**

Tessa and Lip had just walked and walked. At one point they had stopped because he needed to go to the bathroom, but he never came back. Tessa freaked out for a minute before she realized she knew exactly where he had been.

When she found Lip sitting in the chair next to Karen's hospital bed, she just leaned against the doorframe and watched him. She held a hoodie that belonged to Ian. She had grabbed it before she had gone inside the hospital. Silently, Tessa walked forward and hung the hoodie over Lip's shoulder. She kept her hand there and patted it a few times before walking out the door.

She had tried to comfort Lip the best she could, but he had decided that it was something else he needed entirely.

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She threw herself into work. She cleaned her apartment from top to bottom – anything to get her mind off of Lip. How had he snuck into her subconscious so easily? Why was she so mad at him for running back to be with Karen?

Fiona had been calling and texting her, asking if she was okay. She asked what had happened after she ran after Lip, but Tessa never answered her calls or texts. She had texted Fiona back once to make sure she didn't show up at her house telling her that she was slammed at work and that she would come by when she could.

It had been Ian that had convinced her to come over two days after Karen's baby had been born. She hadn't wanted to, but he had convinced her without even having a good excuse.

Tessa knocked on the front door and Steve was the one who answered it. He had a mask on that was used for paintball guns and she shot him an odd glance. He lifted it so she could see his full face. "Tessa, right?" he asked.

She nodded and walked past him. "Steve, right?" She knew who he was but she hadn't been able to help her sarcastic comment.

"Ah, it's Jimmy actually."

She made a strange face but continued walking through the living room and into the kitchen where Fiona, Ian and Jimmy's wife were sitting.

Ian grinned when he saw her and enveloped her in a hug. He kissed the top of her head and muttered that he was glad she came.

"Where the hell have you been?!" Fiona half-yelled. She could see the concern on her face.

"Sorry. Like I said, work has been hectic. Down a waitress, remember?" It wasn't a complete lie. They were down a waitress.

"Mhm," Fiona hummed, letting her know that she didn't buy her story. "So now will you tell me what happened after you ran after Lip?"

Everyone stared at Tessa in silence. They all wanted an answer and she wasn't willing to give them the real one.

"Oh uhm. Nothing really. I caught up to him outside the hospital because he stopped to toss his scrubs in the trash, but he walked away when I tried to see if he was okay." Half of what she had just said had been a lie. That was an improvement from a complete lie, wasn't it?

Ian leaned against the counter and picked at a piece of turkey. "He's been staying with Mandy," Ian said.

She didn't know why, but Tessa found herself clenching her jaw. She knew Mandy was one of Ian's good friends, but she had no idea that Lip was close with her. Then again, she shouldn't be surprised that Lip was sleeping with her. He slept with everyone.

"Well he certainly moved on fast," Tessa mumbled and Fiona scoffed with a nod.

"I've stopped trying to understand him and how he thinks," she said.

Frank walked through the door and immediately went to the shelf that had previously contained their squirrel fund. He pulled the jar out and looked through it. Fiona rolled her eyes. "We're broke, Frank."

He ignored her and went to the refrigerator to check the freezer.

"I haven't hidden money in there since you cleaned us out last May."

"Where is it?" Frank asked. It was as if he hadn't heard a word Fiona said.

She sighed. "There is no money."

Frank scoffed and reached into the fridge and pulled out a pack of beer.

Ian stood up straight and shook his head. "Whoa! No. Those are mine." Frank ignored him and went for the backdoor but Ian grabbed the beer from his grasp.

"Come on, let him go, Ian." Fiona looked at her brother, a tired expression on her face.

The two started to fight back and forth and Tessa kept her distance. It wasn't until Jimmy's wife bopped Frank on the back of the head with a frying pan that everything became quiet again.

She spoke something in another language and no one had any idea what she had said.

"Well I'm impressed," Tessa said.

Jimmy gave her thumbs up and his wife smiled in response. Fiona leaned down to grab Frank and everyone followed her example. Together they were able to drag him outside, down the front steps and into the side yard. They dumped him and Tessa realized it was about to snow.

They all walked back inside and Tessa sat with Ian at the table, drinking a beer and talking to Fiona about little things. No one wanted to discuss the baby or Monica's botched suicide attempt.

The backdoor opened and everyone turned to see Lip standing there.

Fiona grinned and rushed forward, hugging her brother.

Tessa kept her gaze on her beer bottle and Ian got up to hug Lip as well.

"I'm glad you're home," Fiona said to which Lip nodded and offered her a smile.

He glanced at Tessa and she offered him a closed lip smile. She was being an irrational girl about things Lip had done the past few days.

Fiona and Jimmy said goodnight and ushered Carl and Debbie upstairs to go to bed. Jimmy's wife to lay on the couch, which left Ian, Tessa and Lip in the kitchen.

"Did Mandy make you come home?" Ian asked, taking a sip of his beer.

Lip shrugged and sat on top of the kitchen counter. "Not really. She told me I should but I wanted to leave on my own. She's been pretty clingy. I sleep with her a few times and all of a sudden she thinks she's my girlfriend."

"Well you need to be straight up with her. She's my best friend and if you hurt her, I'll kick your ass," Ian warned, pointing a finger at Lip.

He chuckled and raised his hands in surrender. "Got it."

Ian mentioned that he was going to bed and Tessa stood up from her spot saying that she probably should head home.

"Uh Tessa, wait. Can I talk to you for a minute?" Lip asked.

Ian glanced at Tessa who merely nodded, letting him know that she would be fine. The red head went upstairs, although she doubted that he would actually go to bed.

"What's up?" she asked, folding her arms across her chest.

"I just wanted to say thanks for the other night." Tessa waited a beat but he didn't say anything else.

"Okay…" she said slowly. "You're welcome."

She turned to leave but Lip reached out and grabbed her arm. "Karen's leaving," he said.

Tessa scoffed and shook her head. She felt bitter. "What would you like me to say?"

He reached forward and grabbed either side of her face and pressed his lips to hers. For a moment she kissed him back, but she eventually realized what she was doing and pushed him away.

"Jesus Lip," she swore. "Karen. Mandy. Me. I've already told you I don't do hook-ups. It seems like Mandy does, so go be with her if that's what you want."

Lip stared at her. "I don't know what I want."

"I think you're confusing me with one of those girls who will wait for a guy to choose."

Tessa didn't wait for him to respond. Instead, she turned and left out the back and rushed towards her car. She didn't know what to do about Lip. She hadn't been in a situation where she might have feelings for someone in a long time.

Her last boyfriend had been from two years ago, Neal, and he had been an asshole. He was one of the reasons why she didn't just do hooking up. He was the cause behind a lot of her personal issues. She wasn't going to let Lip add onto her issues. She wasn't going to force him to be with her and only her. Hell, she still thought he just wanted to get into her pants. But when Lip hadn't gone to Karen, he had gone to Mandy and not Tessa. That had to say something, didn't it?

 **A:N/ END SEASON TWO. I know this chapter was super short but I didn't have much to write in this one. I was going to start off with some of Tessa's personal storyline but decided against it. I will be continuing that and season three in this story, so you will continue to get updates about new chapters. What did you guys think? LET ME KNOW. Remember, reviews get updates.**


	12. TWELVE

**A:N / IMPORTANT announcement. Today I started my new job, which means I won't be able to update every day or every other day. You'll at least get one update a week but I would say that on average you'll probably get two. This is a 40+ hours a week job which is why I won't have as much free time. However, this marks the beginning of Tessa's own storyline!**

"Marcus has really been stepping up his game lately," Sam said once Tessa had handed her the bowl.

Unable to talk, Tessa nodded her head and continued to hold the smoke in until she couldn't stand it anymore. She let the smoke out slowly and leaned back on the couch. "He's also been super creepy lately," she said.

Sam snorted. "Isn't he always?" she asked.

Tessa shrugged and watched Sam take a hit. "He had given me shit about not coming to see him in a while. I'd been getting my weed from my stash I got a while ago." Tessa frowned when she had realized the weed Veronica had let her take was practically gone. She had been basking in the fact that she didn't have to go Marcus for weed.

"Right, so." Sam passed the bowl to Tessa. "What happened with that Lip guy?"

She frowned and shook her head. "Nothing," she lied. It had been a few days since she had told Lip she wouldn't wait around for him to choose. She hadn't heard from him but she had talked to Fiona a few times. Tessa had avoided going to their house but instead had always insisted on meeting Fiona somewhere else. She knew Fiona could tell something was up, but the eldest Gallagher was too caught up in her own shit to try to sort through someone else's.

"Bullshit," Sam snapped.

Tessa glared at her dark-haired friend. "I'm not high enough to deal with you right now," she said.

Her friend scoffed and shook her head. "Stop lying, bitch."

"I'm not!" She said, throwing her hands up in the air. Tessa ignored Sam for a moment and took another hit from the bowl. She would have to get a lot higher a lot quicker if she were going to have this conversation with Sam. Then again, Tessa didn't really see what conversation there was.

"You know, you call me bitch an awful lot," Tessa said, trying to change the subject.

"It's a term of endearment," Sam deadpanned.

"Karen left," Tessa said. "But then he slept with Ian's friend, Mandy. He then came onto me as if I was some consolation prize. I mean, I've made it clear that I don't do the whole hooking up thing."

"Which is dumb," Sam mumbled.

"I'm not going to start something with him when I'm such good friends with Fiona. Their family accepts me and I wouldn't want to jeopardize that." Tessa sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

"You haven't hooked up with anyone since – "

Tessa cut her off by glaring and pointing a finger. "Don't. Don't say his name," she warned. It wasn't that she was still hung up over Neal, but she didn't like to relive the relationship they had.

"He was a tool!" Sam exclaimed. "All guys are. Just because this one was more douchey than the rest doesn't mean you have to cock block yourself every chance you get."

She didn't like how concerned Sam seemed to be with her sex life, but when she thought about it she knew her friend was just trying to be helpful. Sam and Tessa never felt the need to express their affection towards one another, but they cared all the same.

"Okay Sam," she said with a bored tone. She was just tired of hearing the same conversation.

"Alright. I have a shift I need to start, and by that I mean do nothing," Sam said as she got up from the couch and put her coat on.

Tessa got up and lit a candle to get rid of the smell of weed. As much as she liked weed, she didn't like her shitty apartment smelling like it.

Tessa followed Sam to the door and leaned against the doorframe. Sam opened the door and gave Tessa a salute goodbye before Tessa laughed and shut the door.

She walked back over to the couch and flopped down, putting her legs up on the coffee table.

Sam had been right; she couldn't avoid the Gallaghers forever. Just because she had an issue with Lip didn't mean she could neglect everyone else. They had welcomed her into their family; Fiona had made that clear at Thanksgiving. She didn't want to talk to Fiona about what had happened with Lip, but at this point she saw no other way to resolve the issue. Fiona knew how Lip did things, at least for the most part. Tessa was not happy with what she would now have to do.

A knock on the door pulled her from her thoughts.

Sighing, Tessa got up from her spot on the couch. Sam couldn't have possibly forgotten something. "What now?" Tessa asked as she opened the door. But it wasn't Sam on the other side of the door. Instead it was someone she thought she would never see again; someone she never wanted to see again. Tessa felt her entire body tense and her eyes went wide. It took her a moment to return her face to neutral, but she had been unable to calm her body down.

The intruder smirked. "Miss me?"

"Neal?" Tessa asked, raising an eyebrow. She wondered if Sam bringing him up had anything to do with him showing up in some weird cosmic universe way.

He pushed past her and walked into the apartment. "You've changed nothing," he said.

Tessa closed the door and tried to hide the mini panic attack that was happening inside her mind. "What are you doing here?" She asked, making sure to keep her tone neutral.

He turned and looked at her, smirking. "Can't I just come see my favorite girl? You know, I never understood why we broke up. I think we were great together."

Tessa folded her arms across her chest and kept her back to the door. "Neal, you know why we broke up. You were too caught up in dealing meth and you wanted to follow that ambition." If you could even call it an ambition. Neal had wanted to move to Los Angeles where the drug scene was bigger, but Tessa had been unwilling to relocate. Honestly, it had been a relief when Neal had announced he was leaving. She had been trying to figure out how to make him leave for a while. Tessa had still loved Neal but she had never cared for his involvement with drugs. She had always feared it would go south and end up hurting her in some way.

"Well you should know that I've expanded my clientele." He looked completely proud of himself.

"What do you mean?" Tessa asked.

"I mean that I'm no longer confined to one drug." He raised his eyebrows as if the answer was obvious.

Tessa bit the inside of her cheek. "Okay well, I have someone coming over." It was a lie but she had always been good at lying to Neal.

He scoffed and shook his head. "No you don't. Sam just left and she's your only friend."

Now Tessa was offended. She folded her arms across her chest and scowled. "Things change. I have other friends."

"And a lot stays the same," Neal said.

"Get out," she snapped.

Neal slowly walked towards her but it was more like a predator stalking his prey. "You know Tessa, it would be unfortunate if the cops found several drugs in your apartment while you were at work." It was mock concern, but she knew him well enough to know that he wasn't bluffing.

She inhaled sharply. "So what?" She exclaimed. "You want to move back in and get back together? Because I'm not getting back together with you, Neal."

He smirked and brushed a strand of hair away from her face. "I just think we could see where things go. And I really appreciate you offering to let me stay here while I'm in town. It really feels like home."

Tessa had never felt so powerless. Neal had barged into her apartment and into her life. In this moment she would have rather been dealing with Lip than Neal. "Why are you doing this?" Tessa asked in a whisper, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Maybe I missed you."

She clenched her jaw and kept her stare on him. "I did build a life when you left, by the way. I didn't crumble and fall apart like you might have thought." She lifted her chin slightly to show him that she was confident in her words. "For the first time I had Thanksgiving with a large group of friends that have become family to me." Tessa couldn't stand the idea of Neal jeopardizing her relationship with the Gallaghers. They had become such a constant in her life and the loss of something stable would not bode well.

She waited a beat before she continued to speak. "Look, I have to go to work. We can talk when I get back if you're still around." She didn't bother trying to tell him not to go through her stuff, since he would do it anyways and especially if she had told him not to.

Neal narrowed his eyes at her and studied her, attempting to figure out if she was lying or not. "No, you don't. You would have left with Sam."

Sighing, she folded her arms across her chest. "I do. Sam left to go home and change real quick."

Tessa walked into her room and stuffed her work clothes into her bag. Neal was still standing in her living room with his arms across his chest. He watched her with careful eyes as she went to open the door to leave.

A hand snatched at her raised wrist and Neal squeezed. "Just remember what I'm capable of. Don't go doing anything stupid," he warned.

Tessa glared and nodded her head, ripping her wrist from Neal's grasp and opening the door. She fast walked down the hall in case Neal changed his mind about letting her leave the apartment.

She felt like she wanted to collapse. She wanted to curl into a ball and disappear for a few days. Tessa wasn't exactly afraid of Neal, but she was afraid of the lengths he would go to in order to get his own way. And since he still hadn't really revealed what he wanted, Tessa felt like she was walking on eggshells.

Her dilemma would be trying to out-smart Neal. If someone had asked her to do it a few years ago, she would have laughed and gladly accepted the challenge. But now it actually _was_ a challenge because he seemed different. She could see how his eyes calculated every move she made. She had to be smarter than her enemy and Tessa knew that she would have to think carefully about any moves that she made.

 **A:N / Again – sorry this is so short. I wanted to get something up to let you guys know about my starting my new job. I'm pretty burned out from my first day, but managed to finish this little event. How do you guys think Tessa should handle Neal?**


	13. THIRTEEN

**A:N / I posted a picture of Neal and Sam on my page, if you guys are wondering who I picture. I'm absolutely exhausted from work so I apologize for my chapters not going up as quickly. But still review! It gives me confidence.**

Without even thinking, Tessa wound up in front of the Gallagher house. Her subconscious had brought her here thinking that she would be safe. She would, but she didn't want to deal with Lip. But she knew Fiona would offer her a safe haven, even if it were only for a few hours.

Leaving her work clothes in her car, Tessa got out of her car and walked up the front steps of the Gallagher house. What were the chances that only Fiona was home? Unlikely.

Tessa didn't knock and walked inside. Debbie was sitting on the couch watching some TV but she appeared to be the only one downstairs.

"Hi Debs," Tessa greeted. Her tone hinted at the exhaustion she felt.

Debbie glanced back and smiled at Tessa. "Tessa! Everyone has been missing you," she said.

She offered a tight-lipped smile and nodded. "Yeah sorry, I've been busy." Tessa glanced around. "Who else is here?"

"Fiona should be home soon," Debbie said. "I think Ian is upstairs but I have no idea where Lip is."

 _Thank god,_ Tessa thought. Her prayers had been answered in at least wanting Lip to not be around. Nodding her head, Tessa told Debbie that she was going to see Ian and to let Fiona know she was here when she got home.

She found the boys' room to be empty but the sound of the shower running made her aware of where Ian probably was. She walked into the room and sat on Ian's bed before kicking off her shoes. She pulled her legs up onto the bed and lay down, resting her head on his pillow while she kept her gaze at the open door.

Tessa had never been one for hiding, but that's exactly what she was doing. She kept telling herself that she wasn't afraid of Neal, but with the way she was reacting she really couldn't be sure anymore. Perhaps she had become too soft around the Gallaghers, opening up to new friends and family. Her guard was down and Tessa knew that if she was going to survive Neal, she would have to put it back up.

The sound of the water shutting off pulled Tessa from her thoughts and she sat up on his bed. Ian walked out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist and Tessa was thankful for the coverage. Ian jumped and swore under his breath when he saw Tessa sitting on his bed.

"You scared me," he said. He walked into his room and opened up his drawers, pulling clothes out to change into.

"Sorry," she mumbled.

Ian furrowed his brows; he knew something was wrong. "Hold on," he said. "Let me go change." He disappeared again into the bathroom to put some clothes on.

She began picking at her nails and looked up when Ian emerged again, this time clothed. He walked over and sat down on the bed next to her, looking at her with concern on his face. Tessa wanted to tell him about Neal but she couldn't stand seeing that look of concern turning to one of pity.

"You can't talk to Lip about this," she began slowly. "Or anyone else for that matter." She would tell Fiona but didn't want Ian talking about it without thinking.

He nodded and looked at her intently. She exhaled deeply and began to explain.

"My ex showed up a few hours ago. His name is Neal and we were together for a couple years and he disappeared…I cant even remember how long ago. But he showed back up tonight and, he's the one who was into drugs if I ever mentioned it, anyway, he basically just moved back in and threatened to plant drugs in my apartment if I did anything."

She saw Ian's jaw clench. "You can't let him push you out of your home," he said.

"I'm not," she insisted. "It's not even that big of a deal but him showing up really caught me by surprise and I'm still trying to wrap my head around it. He's a lot smarter now, streetwise, so I have to be careful about what I do. I can't just kick him out of the apartment or allow you to go over and try to beat him up. He's a lot bigger than you Ian and I wouldn't want you getting hurt." She sighed. "Besides, this is my problem."

Ian scoffed. "Hardly. Remember when I said you're like family? Well family helps one another."

Tessa shook her head. "No. I just needed to talk to someone about it. Once I get my head back on straight then I'll be fine. I just can't have anyone barging over there doing something stupid."

They sat in silence for a moment and Tessa knew Ian was lost in his thoughts. He was probably thinking about going behind her back to handle this problem, probably pulling in Lip for help. Tessa would quickly shoot that down if she even suspected he was entertaining the idea of following through with that action.

"You **can't** talk about this," Tessa pointed out.

Ian threw her a stern face and she began to shake her head. "I won't forgive you if you do." It was an empty threat but the way she had said it made Ian believe her words.

"Then why did you come here? Why even tell me?" He asked.

"Because," she whined. "I just needed somewhere to clear my head. You help with that, and so does Fiona." She reached out and grabbed Ian's hand, offering him a small smile.

He squeezed her hand back and nodded. "If he touches you, I'll kill him." It was a simple statement and the words flowed through Ian's mouth like he was talking about what was for dinner.

Tessa pursed her lips but nodded. Neal had never been physical with her before, but since she didn't seem to know the new Neal too well, she couldn't really throw that possibility off the table.

Someone poked their head into the boys' room and Ian and Tessa looked up to see Fiona standing there.

"Debbie said you were here," she said, placing her hands on her hips. "I feel like you disappeared these last few days." Fiona knew that Tessa had said she had been busy working, but even through text she knew when her friend wasn't being completely honest.

"What's wrong?" Fiona asked. How could everyone so easily tell that something was wrong with Tessa? She had been so good at disguising her true emotions, but apparently that wasn't the case anymore.

Ian glanced at Tessa and he tried to hide his smug look. If she thought Ian's reaction had been bad, then she was in for a surprise once Fiona found out.

"My ex, Neal, showed up earlier today. It just caught me off guard and really put me through a loop. I just needed to clear my head," Tessa explained. She could see Ian roll his eyes at how nonchalant she made the situation seem.

Fiona furrowed her eyebrows. "Neal? Why haven't you talked about him before."

"Because he's definitely a sociopath," Ian quipped.

Tessa shot him a glare and folded her arms across her chest. "He is not," she insisted.

"What the hell?" Fiona exclaimed. "Why haven't you kicked him out? Better yet, why haven't you kicked his ass? I'll send Lip, Ian and Kev over there." Fiona was deadly serious and Tessa knew her friend wasn't bluffing.

"No!" She shouted a little too quickly.

Sighing, she ran a hand through her hair. "I don't want to make things more complicated than they already are. Just let me handle this, okay? I didn't come over here to get some therapy session or ask you guys to step in. I just came here because I needed to clear my head."

Fiona scoffed and shook her head. "I don't like this," she said.

"Me either," Ian said.

"Too bad," Tessa snapped. "It's not up for discussion and you have to promise not to talk to anyone else about this, okay?"

Fiona looked at Ian but didn't say anything.

"I'm serious Fi. I can't have you telling anyone else, especially Lip or Veronica or Kevin. If you tell V there's no way she could keep that from Kev." Tessa didn't like to threaten her friend, but she had to make sure she covered all of her bases. "I wont forgive you if you do." Her tone was softer but still serious enough to let Fiona know she wasn't lying.

Fiona pursed her lips and after hesitating, she finally nodded. "But please come stay here for a bit if things get even a little too intense? Please?"

Sighing, Tessa nodded her head. "Okay. But I'm telling you, I'll be fine."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Tessa walked into her apartment and hoped that Neal was gone. Her time with Ian and Fiona had helped her mood and she felt more like herself. Tessa glanced around the living room and kitchen and didn't see Neal. Had she gotten lucky?

She dropped her bag on the floor and heard footsteps. She froze and turned, keeping her body rigid. Neal was walking down the hallway towards her.

"How was work?" Neal asked, cocking his head to the side.

She shrugged, not hesitating. She would be able to lie without trouble this time around. "Boring. Dead. Why do you care?"

Neal mirrored her shrug and gave her a tight-lipped smile. "I just thought it was interesting since you didn't actually go to the diner. I called to talk to you, and your boss said you weren't working tonight."

Fuck. Tessa tried to think about what to say. "Sam texted me saying they didn't need me anymore, so I just walked around and relaxed."

Neal jumped towards Tessa and grabbed her by the neck, shoving her against the wall. "Stop lying to me, Tessa. It's only going to make things worse," he seethed.

She struggled against his grasp and he tightened his grip, making it slightly harder for her to breathe. After a few moments of Tessa struggling for air and release, he finally let go of her. Her hand flew to her throat and massaged the skin that was already sore.

"I went to see my friend," she said through huffs. "Where I relaxed. So I didn't lie." She glared at him and walked around him. She didn't dare look back at him but continued to walk down the hallway.

Worried that he might try to follow her into her bedroom, she turned around at the last minute. "Touch me again and I'll slit your throat while you sleep." Tessa turned back around but thought she heard him chuckle at her threat. This was not going to be an easy dilemma to defeat.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Tessa opened the door slowly, tossing a confused look at the person on the other side.

He was furious. He glanced behind Tessa and pushed past her. "Where the fuck is he?"

She shut the door and glared at him. "What are you doing here?" Tessa demanded.

Lip turned and glared at her. "I heard Ian and Fiona talking about this douche bag that you used to date. Why the fuck didn't you tell me?" He asked.

Tessa scoffed and folded her arms across her chest. "Because it's none of your business."

She saw Lip clench his jaw and shake his head. "It _is_ my business. It's annoying when someone tries to pry into your personal life, isn't it?" Tessa couldn't believe how angry Lip was.

Since Neal wasn't there, Lip seemed to be directing all of his anger towards Tessa. She had the right to share her personal issues with whomever she wanted, and she had the right to not tell Lip. She was a little pissed at Fiona and Ian, but knew she couldn't be since Lip had been eavesdropping, so they hadn't actually broken their promises.

His eyes narrowed in on her neck and he stomped over to her. He pulled the collar of her flannel down and looked at the light bruise on her neck. He had almost missed it, but he was glad he had caught sight of it. If Lip thought he had been angry before, now he was furious.

"I'm going to kill him," he seethed.

Tessa slapped his hand away. "I can handle it," she snapped.

He scoffed and ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah I can see that. Real bang up job," he said.

She clenched her fists by her side. "Get. Out." Now Tessa was angry.

Lip needed to hit something. He needed to beat the shit out of this guy until he was begging him to stop. "No," he snapped.

"Get out!" Tessa screamed at him.

"No!" He shouted back.

Tessa walked towards him and shoved him towards the door. "Get out!" She repeated. She pushed him again and his back hit the back of the door. He wasn't fighting her but he wasn't complying either.

She went to shove him again but Lip grabbed her wrists and yanked her towards him. "No," he hissed.

Lip moved one of his hands to her waist and the other grabbed the back of her head. His grip was strong and Tessa would have been unable to get out of it, if she had tried. But she didn't try and she found her eyes locked on his. In an instant he pulled her head forward and crashed his lips onto her own. The kiss was fueled with all the anger he felt and Tessa found herself kissing him back.

For something she had wanted for so long, it had come at the worst time. She had to focus on Neal and getting him to leave, but now she had Lip in front of her and she couldn't focus on anything but him.

His hands slid under her shirt and he quickly maneuvered them so Tessa's back was pressing against the door. He pressed his body against her to prevent her from moving, not that she wanted to at this point. Their tongues fought for dominance and Tessa found herself grinding her hips against Lip's.

Snapping back to reality she pushed him away and her hand flew to her mouth to touch her swollen lips. If Neal came back and found Lip there, he would kill him.

"You have to leave," she whispered. Her eyes told him how scared she was.

Lip furrowed his brows. "What? No." He was confused by the sudden change in Tessa's demeanor.

"Lip," she said. Tessa reached forward and grabbed his face with her hands. "If you care about me at all you'll leave." Her eyes searched his and she could see him trying to wrap his mind around her words.

"You need to come with me," he insisted.

Tessa dropped her hands from his cheeks and shook her head. "I have to deal with him. He's my problem Lip, not yours."

He shook his head, feeling the anger begin to return. "Fuck no," he scoffed.

"Lip please!" She pled. Tessa had never felt so helpless before. "I'll come by as soon as I can and you can help me think of something, but I need you to leave now. If he comes back and you're here he wont hesitate to hurt you."

"Why?" Lip asked. "So that way he can just hurt you when I'm not here?"

She was wasting so much time arguing with Lip over this. Neal could walk through the door any minute and she couldn't deal with a furious Neal, especially when he was matched with a furious Lip.

"Lip, please." She felt like she was groveling.

Clenching his jaw he nodded. "Fine." He wasn't happy but he felt like staying would only cause more harm, at least for the moment.

"You text me as soon as you can." He pointed a finger at her, as a warning for how serious he was.

She nodded quickly, glad that he was finally agreeing to leave. Lip glanced around one last time, already mad with himself for leaving her. He reached forward and kissed her again before opening the door and leaving.

Tessa sunk to the floor as soon as the door closed and she felt herself breathing heavily. She felt like she was having a panic attack but she had never had one before. She couldn't breathe and she felt like the walls were closing in on her. What was she going to do? She couldn't just leave – Neal would find her. But she knew that dragging the Gallaghers into her mess would only cause more harm.

But she knew one thing: Neal had to leave. In order for that to happen, Tessa knew she had to do the one thing she had never done before. She had to rely on someone else to fix her problem.

 **A:N / What did you guys think? PLEASE leave a comment about your thoughts. What do you guys think should happen? Any lingering questions? Reviews get faster updates!**


	14. FOURTEEN

**A:N / Thanks for all the positive responses to the last chapter! Also, some people have asked about Mickey. If you remember, he was in juvie at the end of season two. So he'll be showing up within the next few chapters. Also – I made some Lip/Tessa cover art.**

Exhaling deeply, Tessa looked at herself in the mirror. The bruises on her neck had only become more prominent overnight. She was contemplating not even trying to cover it up; a big fuck you to Neal for even putting it there. But then she would have to explain to people what happened, and she didn't really want to do that either.

Her phone buzzed and she looked down to see a text from Ian asking her to come over. She put it down without answering, unsure if she wanted to go over there or not. Her head was still spinning from what had happened with Lip the other night and wasn't sure if she wanted if she wanted to see him again, especially with her bruise being more noticeable.

Tessa tossed her hair up in a bun and walked out of her bathroom to see Neal in her room. He was leaning against the doorframe and had his arms crossed over his chest. "Where are you going?" he asked.

She glared and walked over to her closet to grab a jacket. "What? Are you going to strangle me again if you don't like the answer?" she snapped.

He chuckled but stayed where he was. "You know I didn't mean that."

Tessa put her jacket on and glared at him again. "It looks like you did," she said, gesturing to the bruise on her neck.

"Sorry babe," Neal said.

"Do not call me babe," she said through clenched teeth. She reached back into her closet and pulled out an infinity scarf and put it around her neck. "You need to leave, Neal. If you wanted to piss me off then congrats, you did. If you were hoping to get back together then it's never going to happen."

Tessa grabbed her bag off her dresser and walked past Neal. She had been unable to think of something to get rid of him, but had been up all night attempting to find a solution.

She turned around once she realized she forgot her keys and she ran straight into Neal's chest.

He grabbed her head and stared into her eyes. "I have so much planned for us," he said. His tone scared Tessa and she fought to get out of his grasp, but was unable to. Finally, he smirked, leaned in and pressed his lips to hers.

Tessa fought harder against his grasp but she wasn't able to escape until he released her. She glared at him before pushing past him and grabbing her keys from her room. He thought he could control her. He thought he could toss her around like a doll. Tessa hated asking for help but she knew what she had to do.

She walked out of her apartment building and quickly texted Ian back, telling him that she was on her way over. She tried thinking about anything other than Neal on the ride over, but she had been unsuccessful in that task.

Walking up the front steps of their house, she hesitated before tentatively knocking her knuckles against the door. It was always strange how she decided whether or not to knock. It usually had to do with her mood. When she was content or happy she usually let herself in; if her mind was running wild or she wasn't feeling like herself, she knocked. Since Tessa was feeling so unsure about her decisions that the hesitation only mirrored her actions.

Ian answered the door with a confused look on his face. "Why didn't you just come in?" he asked.

Tessa shrugged. "Sorry, I guess I wasn't really thinking." It was a lame excuse but she didn't feel like herself.

She followed Ian inside and saw Fiona standing in the living room with her arms across her chest and a frown on her face.

Tessa glanced around but only saw Fiona and was glad that she had managed to avoid Lip. Fiona walked forward and wrapped her arms around Tessa.

At first she tensed up, not used to this kind of physical contact. Then again, she supposed she should be used to it by now with the Gallagher family.

Fiona pulled away and sighed. "Why didn't you come here?" she asked.

Attempting to make things lighter, she scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Lip sort of turned me off that idea. I wasn't exactly happy with you two once it was clear that he had found out about Neal."

Ian and Fiona exchanged glances and Ian began to go into a spiel about how they hadn't told Lip but had been talking about it in the kitchen. The kids had been in bed and they had been under the impression that Lip wasn't coming home that night. She knew it wasn't really their fault, but decided to give them crap about it anyway.

Fiona ushered Tessa into the kitchen where she began to make them some sandwiches. Ian and Tessa went to sit on the stools near the counter.

"Have you talked to Lip?" Fiona asked. "He came home really pissy last night and wouldn't talk to anyone. He left before anyone could talk to him this morning. We haven't heard from him since."

Tessa prayed that Lip hadn't gone off to do something stupid. She understood why he was so angry, but he was a hotheaded guy and that made her nervous. Tessa didn't know what had happened between them last night, what they were, or what they were supposed to be, but she knew that she was worried about Lip's wellbeing.

She didn't know if she wanted to tell them what had happened or not. There was a chance Lip would eventually tell them, which would only cause issues between her, Ian and Fiona. But she also knew that telling them right now would only put them into a frenzy and she was too tired to try to calm them down.

"He came over after he heard you guys talking about Neal," Tessa confessed. "He wanted me to come stay here but I said no and he got mad." It was mostly the truth. She had only left out the part about Neal practically strangling her.

"Jimmy is staying here now?" She asked, attempting to change the subject.

Ian noticed and tossed her a glare but Fiona didn't see what Tessa had been trying to do.

"Yeah we're going to try things again." Fiona nodded and continued to make them some food.

"Don't change the subject," Ian finally said and Tessa glared at him.

"I wasn't. I was just asking Fiona about her life," she snapped.

Debbie came down the stairs and into the kitchen. "Tessa!" She said with excitement.

"Debbie, don't you have homework to do?" Fiona asked.

Debbie raised an eyebrow and shook her head. "No," she said.

"We actually have plans to go shopping," Tessa said. "It was supposed to happen before school started, but things got busy." It wasn't a complete lie. She had promised to take Debbie shopping for her fake birthday. But that had been before school had started and it was already December.

"We do?" Debbie asked, confusion on her face.

Tessa would have shot her a glare if Ian and Fiona hadn't been watching. Instead, Tessa laughed and shook her head. "Yeah, silly. I finally made time for that birthday shopping trip and told you about it a few days ago."

Debbie was a smart girl and caught on, grinning and nodding. "Oh yeah!" she said.

She ran upstairs to get changed and Fiona raised an eyebrow at Tessa. "Really?" she asked. It was clear the eldest Gallagher didn't believe her.

"You weren't at her birthday party so you didn't hear me telling her I would take her shopping," Tessa pointed out with a grin. She knew Fiona had felt bad about missing the party because of work, but she was just kidding around with her friend.

She got off her stool and picked up the sandwich Fiona had just made her. "Tell Debbie I'll be in the car," She said with a grin. Tessa took a bite out of her sandwich and left out the front door. She knew it was unlikely that she had fooled both Ian and Fiona, but she didn't care. She had an excuse to get out of their house and spend time with Debbie, which would likely put her in a good mood.

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"What's going on?" Debbie asked, looking up at Tessa as the two walked through the mall.

Tessa shot Debbie a questioning look. "What do you mean?" She asked. Tessa had an idea of what Debbie was talking about, but was hoping it was something different. She didn't exactly want to tell the red head about her troubles.

"Everyone thinks I can't tell something is wrong, but I can. And I know it involves you, so why won't you tell me?" She asked.

Sighing, Tessa ushered Debbie towards the food court and sat down across from her at a table. "It's just not something you should be worrying about, Debs."

Debbie looked at her with an annoyed expression on her face, and Tessa continued to speak. "It's complicated and messy. I think your siblings just want you to focus on school and having fun. I certainly don't want you worrying about my problems either. It's nothing I can't handle," she said with a wink.

She was not buying it. "But you're my friend," Debbie said. "I care about what happens to you. And I know Lip does too, even if he might try to hide it. Why won't you tell me?" Debbie pleaded.

She inhaled deeply before looking straight at Debbie. "An old boyfriend showed back up and things didn't end well between us. Its just drama with that, okay?"

Debbie raised an eyebrow; skeptical about the story Tessa had just told her. "Really?" She asked, slowly.

Tessa nodded. "Really. He showed up a few days ago and I told Ian and Fiona about it. I didn't tell Lip but he found out anyway which is why he was mad last night and this morning." Tessa had to hand it to Debbie; she caught on to a lot more things than she got credit for. While she didn't want to divulge every detail, she thought she deserved to know at least the main points.

"Is Lip mad because he thinks you'll get back together with him?" she asked.

The brunette shook her head and laughed. "No," she replied. It wasn't that the idea of Lip being mad because of that made her laugh. It was the idea that she would ever get back together with Neal that caused the uncharacteristic giggle to escape her lips. Calming down, Tessa explained things further. "I think he's mad I didn't tell him. He overheard Ian and Fiona talking about it."

Debbie nodded in approval; satisfied with the story Tessa had told her. "Thanks for telling me the truth," she said.

Tessa nodded and rose from her seat. "Let's go into one last store, okay?"

Debbie had a few bags in her hands and even Tessa had one. She had bought Debbie clothes from a few different stores and the girl had been happy for the shopping trip. While she didn't have hand-me-downs, she didn't really get to do shopping trips often. She either didn't have the money or Fiona was too busy to take her. Tessa had promised to take her if she wanted and so long as she wasn't working. The smile on Debbie's face had made her forget all about Neal, even if it was just for a few hours.

They walked into the store Debbie had pointed towards and began to look around. The clothes were targeted specifically for Debbie's age group, so Tessa was really only looking for Debbie. Picking up a shirt, she turned and looked at Debbie. "What about this?" She asked.

Debbie scrunched up her nose. "No. I don't like that color." Tessa smiled and put the shirt back. She had to admit, she loved Debbie's honesty. One of Tessa's biggest shopping pet peeves was when people would say everything looked good so they could avoid hurt feelings. Tessa had always been too blunt to abide by those stupid girl-code rules, and was glad that Debbie appeared to be the same.

Tessa made her way towards a rack with nail polish and began looking through them. She rarely painted her nails but knew that Debbie liked doing it when she could. "Hey Debs," she called out. "Pick out a color and maybe I can paint your nails later. If we don't get to it tonight then I'll do it within the next few days."

Debbie grinned and rushed towards the collection of colors. She began to go through them and eventually picked out a purple that appeared almost silver. Tessa praised her choice and they continued to look through clothes until Debbie found a few things she really liked.

They got back to Debbie's house and the two walked inside. She saw Lip sitting on the couch watching TV with Ian and Fiona while Carl played a hand-held video game on the floor.

Her stomach clenched when she made eye contact with Lip and she glanced down at Debbie. "Why don't you go put your clothes away?" Tessa suggested. She could tell that Debbie picked up on the tension but complied never the less.

"Carl, go upstairs," Fiona demanded.

The boy ignored her until she grabbed the game out of his hands. "Now."

Carl grumbled profanities under his breath but snatched the game back from Fiona on his way past her.

Ian rose and she saw the anger in his eyes. "Why didn't you tell us he hit you." It wasn't really a question, but it was laced with controlled anger.

"He didn't," Tessa said, furrowing her eyebrows. She glared at Lip for a moment. Had he made things worse than they actually were? "He pushed me against the wall by the throat. I have some small bruises on my neck. That's it."

Lip scoffed and stood up, walking over towards her. "Take off the scarf then." He held out his hand, waiting for her to remove the article of clothing.

She was stuck between a rock and a hard place. If she refused to take it off then Ian and Fiona would only think that it was worse than it was, but if she did and they saw the actual evidence, then she knew there would be no way to calm them down.

Huffing in annoyance, she finally took the scarf off but kept it in her hand instead of handing it over to Lip. She heard Fiona gasp and Ian's face-hardened. She wanted to look in the mirror to make sure it hadn't gotten any worse, but she felt glued in her place.

Fiona disappeared into the kitchen for a moment and Ian walked towards her. "You _promised_ me," he said.

Tessa felt a pang of guilt when she realized that she had promised him that she would let him know if he put a hand on her. It wasn't that she thought Ian was incapable of helping her, it was just that she had been so used to handling things on her own that the idea had never crossed her mind. Despite knowing how much the Gallagher family cared about her, Tessa still felt weak going to them asking for help.

She knew she had to ask for help. She knew she had to swallow her pride and tell them that she had no idea what to do. She had been unable to think of a plan on her own. She had failed. Tessa was about to sit down and explain that to them, when V and Kev came rushing in through the back door.

Fiona led them into the living room and Tessa felt overwhelmed by the eyes staring at her. She felt cornered and a look of hurt crossed her face when she looked over at Fiona. "Why would you bring them into this?" she asked.

Fiona ran a hand through her hair. "I didn't know what to do! It looks bad Tessa and I couldn't let you go back not knowing what else he might do." Fiona looked hurt and concerned, but Tessa felt no sympathy towards her friend.

Veronica rushed towards her to examine her neck but Tessa took a few steps back and put up her hand. "Don't," she warned.

In that moment, Tessa truly wished she had never befriended Fiona Gallagher. She wished her life was how it used to be. She had been content in that life. She had been fine with having Sam as her only friend and spending her free nights watching TV or catching up on her sleep. The whole caring about the well being of others had never been her thing.

Tessa managed to avoid any reaching hands and left out the front door, rushing to her car before anyone could catch up with her. She got inside and locked the doors, but found herself unable to start the car and leave. She had this awful feeling in her stomach. She felt betrayed and scared at the same time.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"What the fuck is going on?" Kev exclaimed.

Lip ran out after Tessa, but Ian turned to look at Kev and Veronica. "Her ex-boyfriend showed up a few days ago and as you can see, assaulted her." Ian slammed his hand against the wall. "I _told_ her to get out," he snapped.

"Ian," Fiona pleaded, wanting her brother to calm down.

"So what are we waiting for?" Kev asked. "This fucker is going down."

Ian agreed with Kev, but knew it wasn't that simple. Tessa had told him about Neal being into drugs. He wished Mickey wasn't in juvie. This was a time where Mickey would be useful. "He's a dealer," Ian explained. "I hate to say it, but Tessa was right when she told me we couldn't just go in there without a plan. We have to be prepared. But we have numbers."

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Lip flew down the stairs, glad to see that he had been able to get to her before she had started her car to drive away. He reached for the handle on the door and pulled but discovered that it was locked.

"Tessa," Lip said. He bent down and looked at her through the window but she was staring ahead. He could see the empty look in her eyes as she zoned out.

"Come on, Tessa. Don't make me break into your car."

Nothing.

If he weren't afraid of her taking off, he would have gone inside to get something to pick the lock on her door.

The sound of the lock unlocking pulled him from his thoughts and he immediately opened the door, afraid that she would lock it again before he could open the door.

He got in and sat in the passengers seat and looked over at her. She was still staring forward with the blank stare on her face. Lip had never been one with words so he didn't know what to say to her. He thought about how she had been there for him after Karen's baby had been born at the hospital, and he decided that was the only way he knew how to be there for her.

"I don't know what to do."

If he hadn't been staring at her then he might not have seen her lips move. Her sentence had been so quiet that it could have easily been missed. He grabbed her hand and leaned back in the seat, looking forward.

"You don't have to," Lip replied. "We are going to help you."

Tessa scoffed and shook her head. "It's my problem. You cannot get involved."

Now it was Lip's turn to scoff. "We already are. We become involved in your problems the minute you befriended Fiona; the minute you got Carl to finish his homework and the minute you made Debbie able to rely on someone again."

Tessa felt tears sting her eyes but refused to let them fall. She didn't cry. Why the hell was she about to cry? Her heart ached and she felt like no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't move from her spot in her car.

"You can't go back tonight," Lip said. He looked over at her and she was still looking forward, her elbow resting on the door while her hand held her head up.

Tessa didn't want to admit it, but Lip was right. She had been lucky enough to last this long with Neal, but who knew how tonight would go, especially after Tessa had snapped at him before she had left.

"Come back inside. We can figure it out in the morning." Lip tugged at her hand and for the first time she looked over at him. She had never expected Lip to be the one to come out to try to talk to her. She would have thought it would have been Fiona, or at least Ian. But not Lip.

She didn't want to go back inside. She didn't want to have everyone hover around her like she was going to break. The only reason Tessa had left the house was because she had felt completely overwhelmed once V and Kev had come inside.

Sensing her hesitation, Lip spoke up. "Just go straight upstairs into my room and I'll make sure no one follows. No one is going to bother you tonight."

Tessa took her hand away from Lip's and she opened the door to her car. She walked around her car and shoved her hands into her jacket pockets. She didn't look at Lip but he wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pressed a kiss to her temple. It had been a feat, getting her to come back inside.

They walked up the steps and Lip leaned in to whisper to her. "Remember, straight upstairs."

She nodded and Lip held the door open for her but she waited for him in the small mudroom, not wanting to go in first.

He walked around her and opened the next door. Everyone had gone to the kitchen and Tessa was thankful. She made her way upstairs while Lip walked into the kitchen to get everyone to stay downstairs.

She walked into the boys' room and glanced around. It was a mess, per usual. She didn't know what she had been expecting. Carl was asleep and she left the room to make sure she didn't wake him up.

Tessa heard someone coming up the stairs from the kitchen and tensed, unsure if it was Lip or not. He appeared and she relaxed.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Carl was sleeping," Tessa explained.

He walked past her and she followed. He walked into a different bedroom and shrugged his jacket off. He looked over at her and noticed her confusion. "Used to be Frank's room," he explained. "Now it's mine."

She nodded and took her jacket off, tossing it onto the floor. Tessa slipped her boots off and climbed onto Lip's bed. He left to use the bathroom and she laid back on his bed. She gazed up at the ceiling and relished in the fact that the situation with Lip wasn't awkward. She was going to spend the night in his bed and she really didn't care. She pulled the sheet back and crawled under the covers.

Lip finally came back and tossed his shirt on the floor. He climbed onto the bed and before he got under the covers he looked at Tessa. "You should take your scarf off," he said.

She had forgotten that she had put it back on when she had left the house. She picked her head up and unwrapped the scarf, placing it in Lip's hand. He tossed it onto the floor and it landed near her jacket and shoes. He got under the covers and pulled her towards him.

Tessa rolled over and rested her head on his chest and laid her arm across his stomach. He absent-mindedly ran his fingers through her hair and stared at the ceiling. For a moment, things were content. But he knew tomorrow would be different. Tomorrow he would have to make Tessa face the truth about her situation. Until then, he was content right where he was.

 **A:N / Longest chapter to date! What did you guys think? I'm having a hard time trying to figure out how I want to get rid of Neal. Jail? Kill him off? Chase him out of town? I really want Mickey to be involved in this but I don't think it's going to work out timeline wise since he's still in juvie. But let me know your thoughts!**


	15. FIFTEEN

**A:N / I'm sorry this took so long. It wasn't necessarily because I've been busy. I've hit a major wall when it comes to my writing. Once I get past this speed bump, things will go smoother once I start season three. But I must finish up the Neal storyline first.**

Tessa woke up alone and for a moment she forgot why she had stayed with Lip that night. She stared up at the ceiling as she tried to listen to any sounds she could pick up. She didn't hear Carl running around or Debbie complaining about an outfit. She didn't hear Fiona yelling at the kids telling them to get ready.

She sat up and raised her arms over her bed, stretching and trying to rid herself of the desire to go back to sleep. Tessa stood up and left the bedroom and glanced around the hallways. Nothing.

Finally, she went downstairs and found Fiona and Lip sitting at the kitchen table talking. Once they saw Tessa they stopped talking. Fiona looked at her with concern, but she could also see the apology in her eyes.

"We'll go get some of your stuff soon," Lip said.

Tessa raised an eyebrow. "With you?" Lip shot her a confused look and slowly nodded his head.

She laughed and quickly covered her mouth with her hand. She cleared her throat and tried to get serious again. "Yeah that's not gonna happen." She couldn't believe she was the only one putting two and two together. "Do you have any idea how badly things would go if I went to my place to get things to stay somewhere else with another guy?"

Lip and Fiona exchanged glances but neither of them said anything.

"I'll go by myself." Even as the words left her mouth she knew Lip and Fiona wouldn't agree.

"Hell no," Fiona said, shaking her head.

"That's the dumbest idea you've ever had," Lip added.

Tessa folded her arms across her chest and stared at Lip. "Because your idea was so much better."

Shaking her head, Tessa moved from the kitchen. "I'll be right back. I have a change of clothes in my car and then we can figure things out." She didn't look back, afraid that one of the Gallaghers would detect the lie in her voice. Luckily she didn't hear either of them protest or get up to follow her.

Once she was outside the door she rushed towards her car and quickly started it up, pulling away from the curb before the sound of her engine attracted one of the Gallaghers.

She knew it wasn't good lying to them, and that it was likely they could go after her. But they didn't have a vehicle and taking the L would take them far longer than it would take her to grab some things and leave. Tessa tried to ignore the guilt and focused on driving towards her apartment.

She had no way of knowing if Neal was inside, but once she parked she knew she couldn't turn back. Tessa opened the door to her apartment and didn't see or hear anyone, but that didn't mean he wasn't there.

She walked down the hallway towards her room but Neal emerged from her room before she made it.

"Where were you?" he asked, folding his arms across his chest.

Tessa frowned and tried to get past him. "I stayed with a friend last night. Why does it matter?"

He blocked her and she couldn't get around him. Rolling her eyes she turned around and headed towards her kitchen. It was still fairly early and she was hungry after not eating dinner last night. She opened the fridge and pulled out some green grapes.

Neal had followed her into the kitchen. Before he could say anything Tessa opened her mouth to speak. "So what? You plan on becoming the new drug lord of Chicago?"

This caused Neal to smirk. "I'm working on it."

"Aren't you afraid of not knowing how things work around here? You don't know who the undercover cops are or who the snitches are. Dealers around her have known that for ages and you're kidding yourself if you think any of them are going to help you." Tessa smirked at him in return and popped a grape into her mouth.

Neal clenched his jaw and it was like he was thinking about these things for the first time. Neal's pride had always been his downfall. "It won't be that hard," he said.

Tessa scoffed. "Good luck with that. Have I told you lately that I want you out of here?"

He walked towards her and grabbed her face. It wasn't rough but she would have been unable to free herself if she had tried. "Stop trying to fight this," he said.

"Listen to me when I say this," she began. "But I will _never_ stop fighting this. Why don't you go find a girl who actually wants to be with you?"

Neal smirked but released his hold on her and Tessa scoffed and pushed around him. He let her go and she made her way towards her bedroom to throw some things in a bag.

"Come to the Alibi later, we'll have some drinks and talk." Tessa turned to see Neal leaning against her doorframe.

"I would have thought that place wouldn't be good enough for you," she said with a scoff.

Neal shrugged. "There are some good clients there. You'd be surprised how easy some of them are to manipulate."

"You'd know all about that, wouldn't you?" Tessa snapped. She shoved a few more belongings into a bag.

"Just be there." Neal left the room and went into the bathroom to take a shower.

Tessa grabbed her bag and quickly left before Neal could try to stop her again. That had gone surprisingly well considering how she had left things last night. She still held her belief that things would have gone horribly wrong had Lip accompanied her. She supposed she would have to deal with his wrath later.

She pulled up to the curb in front of the Gallagher household and Fiona came running outside before she could even get out of the car.

"What the hell?!" She exclaimed.

Tessa ignored her and grabbed her bag from her car. "Do you have any idea how hard it was to keep Lip from going after you? He's pissed! And quite frankly, I don't blame him."

"And quite frankly," Tessa said. "I don't care. I got in and out just fine and things would have gone horribly had Lip been there. Neal was there, and you've never seen him but he's a big guy. I know Lip can hold his own in a fight but not with Neal."

She walked past Fiona and up the stairs. She paused on the porch and turned to look at her. "Are you going to give me shit about this the whole time? Because I can go stay with Sam." She knew it was Fiona's weak spot; caring for people. Tessa knew it was a bad thing to do as a friend, but she didn't want to constantly listen to Fiona bitch at her for trying to protect her brother.

Sighing, Fiona walked up the stairs and ushered Tessa inside. "We were just worried," Fiona said.

They walked inside and Tessa noted the kids not being there. Oh, right. They were at school like they were supposed to be. She wondered why Fiona wasn't at work but didn't have the energy to fight over that too.

"Where's Lip?" Tessa asked.

"Next door with Kev," Fiona said.

She bit the inside of her cheek and wondered if she should go get him to let him know that she was okay. However, she also didn't want to go over there only to get an earful from him. She wondered when Kev would have to go to work at the Alibi.

Then it hit her.

"I'll be right back," Tessa said. She dropped her bag on the floor and walked out the front door and down two houses to where Kev and V lived. She walked inside without knocking, too caught up in her developing plan. She found Lip and Kev on the couch playing video games and they both glanced at Tessa.

Lip dropped his controller and stood up and she heard Kevin groan something along the lines of, ' _I just got him to calm down_ '.

Tessa held her finger up to Lip. "Shut up," she said.

Lip stopped but she was certain that it was out of shock and not because he was actually listening to her.

"Kev, have you seen this guy at the Alibi lately?" Tessa reached into her pocket, pulling out her phone and searching through old photos until she found one of Neal. She walked around Lip and handed her phone to Kev.

He looked at it and his eyebrows shot up before he handed the phone back to Tessa. "Yeah, actually."

Tessa grinned and sat on the arm of the chair near the couch. "When I went to grab my stuff he was there and he began to brag about the idiots that he was selling drugs to down at the Alibi."

She saw Lip clench his fist out of the corner of her eye but she ignored him.

"Cops are down there a lot, especially out of their uniform. No one goes down there looking for drugs." Kev had a look of disbelief on his face.

"Except Frank," Lip scoffed.

"So, what if we made sure cops were down there, especially when Neal was there?" Tessa asked.

"South side doesn't snitch," Lip said.

Tessa rolled her eyes. "It's not snitching asshole. We're not telling the cops to look for Neal. We're just making sure no one tells Neal who the cops are."

Kev and Lip exchanged glances and Tessa could see the hesitance on their faces.

"So long as we get this asshole out of town, and away from you," Kev said slowly. "V picks up shifts there too so I can fill her in."

She grinned in triumph and stood up. "You guys finish your game, I need to go shower."

Tessa turned and headed towards the door but heard Lip pipe up. "Want some company?"

She rolled her eyes and turned to look at him. "Have you ever actually showered with someone? It sucks and someone is always cold." She turned and went towards the door and left.

She walked back over towards the Gallagher's house and noted someone leaving the house between Kev's house and Fiona's house. He was in a police officer's uniform and Tessa had never seen him before.

He smiled at Tessa once he saw her. "Hey, Tessa right?" he asked.

She continued walking down the walkway towards him. "Yeah," she said slowly. "Sorry, I don't know your name."

He smiled and stuck his hand out for her to shake. Did he have any other facial expression other than smiling? "I'm Tony."

Tessa nodded her head and shook his hand. "Nice to meet you," Tessa said.

She glanced back at Kev's house and noted that Lip wasn't leaving. She slowly turned back to look at Tony and smiled. "Actually, I was wondering if I could talk to you for a minute?"

 **A:N / Sorry again for the delay. I had a hard time getting my muse back. I have a better idea of how I'm going to handle things. What do you guys think Tessa is going to talk to Tony about? Reviews get quicker updates!**


	16. SIXTEEN

Lip and Kev had agreed to keep an eye out for Neal at the bar. They wanted to gently push him in the direction of an undercover cop, but they couldn't always tell when they added new agents. Their advantage was that Neal didn't know who they were, so Lip and Kev could suggest something to Neal without him being suspicious. As much as Tessa had wanted to see Neal taken down, she knew her being at the bar would cause him to be cautious.

Tessa kept glancing at her phone while she sat on the floor playing with Liam. She was not the most patient person and it was even worse knowing how much this could change her life. She knew Fiona didn't mind having her stay over, but she did like her own space. After she had showered and seen the bathroom, she was glad to have her own. She didn't know how that many people managed to share one.

Fiona was out working and Tessa had offered to stay behind and watch Liam, even though Debbie was capable. Debbie was sitting on the couch doing some homework while Tessa helped whenever she could. She had no idea where Carl was but hoped that he wouldn't get into too much trouble. He was practically a danger magnet these days.

Liam reached for his cup and Tessa handed it to him. He grinned in thanks and she ruffled his hair. Her hands absent-mindedly played with one of the toys on the floor. She wanted to text Lip but didn't want to distract him. She wanted to do anything to help, but she knew she had probably already done enough.

They had entertained the idea of trying to find a way to run Neal out of town, but Tessa had quickly shot that idea down. She knew that making Neal go away was only a temporary solution, and she wanted one a little more permanent.

The hours flew by and Tessa eventually went upstairs to put Liam to bed. He fussed a little bit but Debbie had helped her calm Liam down. She went back downstairs and saw Lip and Kevin come through the door.

"You'll never guess what happened," Kev said. He seemed excited; like a kid in a candy store.

Tessa finished descending the stairs and leaned against the back of the couch. She raised her eyebrows, telling him to continue his story.

"Of all people, Neal approached Frank. I guess he just looks like a druggie at this point," Kev began. "Frank was definitely into what Neal was selling but he obviously didn't have any money. Their conversation was overheard by one of the undercover cops and he got into talking with Neal. He abandoned Frank, which caused him to curse Neal out, making a semi-scene. Neal and the cop went outside to talk more and the next thing we knew, he was being put in handcuffs! What's better was they found more drugs in his car."

She smirked, happy that things had ended well.

"I've gotta say, couldn't have gone better if I had planned it myself," Lip said.

Tessa rolled her eyes, since Lip had helped with the plan.

"Oddly enough, Frank played a huge part in this. If he hadn't been so loud about it, then I don't think it would have caught the other guy's attention. But you know, I hadn't seen that guy before so I didn't even know he was actually a cop. It's kind of ironic how they put someone new in the bar that night." Kev crossed his arms across his chest and thought about it.

Tessa chuckled and shook her head. "Not really," she said. "I made sure they knew what Neal looked like."

Lip and Kev exchanged glances and she was unable to read them. They were mixed with approval and disbelief in what Tessa had done.

"Tessa," Lip said. He ran a hand through his hair. "What did you do? We don't make deals with cops!"

She could see Lip's anger grow, but she didn't care. "What did I do?" She repeated. "I made sure that asshole got out of my life. Do you honestly think I would have left things to chance? Did you honestly believe that I didn't have a plan B?"

Kev's eyes went wide and he quietly left the house, telling Lip that he would talk to him later. He could see an argument forming and wanted nothing to do with it.

"South side doesn't snitch!" Lip yelled.

"And I'm not South side!" Tessa yelled back.

He scoffed and shook his head. "I guess not." He brushed past her and went upstairs.

Tessa was furious. How could he be pissed at her for getting things done? She hadn't actually snitched. She had just told Tony to watch out for this guy and had shown him a picture. She hadn't actually told him to put a guy in the Alibi that night. Maybe she had put the thought in his head, but that was as far as it went.

She didn't know why she cared so much about Lip being pissed at her. She wasn't South side. She didn't abide by the same rules that they did. She wasn't a snitch but was willing to do whatever it took to get Neal out of her life. She was miserable and tired of being chased away from her home.

She felt the anger radiating through her body and the urge to destroy something came over her. She tried to breathe in and out deeply, but found herself having a hard time controlling her anger. She rushed into the bathroom and hoped that the small space would help her.

It didn't.

She banged her hand on the wall, attempting to release some of the anger. It wasn't enough and she turned and her fist collided with the small mirror hanging on the wall.

The glass shattered and cut into her skin in a few different places. Some blood escaped her and made its way onto the surface of the sink. Breathing heavily, Tessa assed the damage done. Why was pain the only thing able to break her from her anger spells?

She continued to try to get her breathing under control but walked out of the bathroom and into the kitchen to wash her cuts.

Ian walked through the back door but she didn't bother looking up at him. She hissed at the contact of the water and she felt Ian beside her instantly.

"What the hell happened?" He asked. She could feel him growing angry and she knew he was assuming this had been Neal's doing.

"It wasn't Neal," she said before he could do anything. "Lip pissed me off."

Ian huffed in annoyance and dragged Tessa away from the sink and sat her down on the kitchen table. He pulled a small first-aid kit out of the bathroom and saw the broken mirror and shards of glass on the ground.

"What happened?" Ian asked. He dug into the small box and began pulling out a few things he would need.

"Neal got arrested," she said. She should have sounded happier but her tone void of any emotions. "Then Lip called me a snitch because I showed that cop next door what Neal looked like and I told him Neal was known for selling drugs."

She looked up to see Ian thinking. It was like he wasn't sure if he agreed more with Lip or Tessa.

"I think," he began. "I think you did what you had to do."

Ian wrapped her hand in white gauze and finally tied the wrapping off once it was finished. He walked over and tossed the wrappers away before he grabbed the broom to sweep up the glass.

Normally Tessa would insist on doing it herself, but she suddenly became too tired to even move.

"I know," she said quietly. "I would do it again. But, Lip got so angry and went off about how South side doesn't snitch. I mean, Jesus Christ, I'm not South side."

Ian dumped the glass into the trash and shrugged his shoulders. "I think sometimes he forgets you didn't grow up here. Lip can get so caught up in the whole South side unspoken rules thing. But, I'm sure he'll realize what an asshole he was and just be glad that Neal is gone."

She shrugged and glanced down at her wrapped hand. "Maybe," she said.

Tessa finally got down off the table and gave Ian a hug. "I should go home," she said. She really didn't want to stay here knowing how pissed Lip was.

Ian shook his head and grabbed her elbow, preventing her from going any further. "I don't think its such a good idea with Neal just being arrested. He could have made bail or the cops could be searching your place since that's where he was staying."

She doubted that Neal made bail but didn't feel like arguing with Ian. "I'm just tired, Ian. I don't want to wake up in the morning and worry about fighting with Lip again."

He squeezed her arm and he nodded. He understood how exhausting everything was but he wanted Tessa to make things right with Lip. Seeing something form between her and his brother made him realize how much he missed Mickey. It didn't matter if he was fooling around with another guy. He still missed him.

"Just go talk to him," he tried.

She shook her head firmly. "I have nothing to apologize for," she said.

Ian nodded. "I know." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I've gotta go meet someone, but just go talk to him."

Tessa didn't respond but Ian left anyway. She huffed in annoyance, remembering that she had put her bag upstairs in Lip's room. She knew Ian meant well but she had zero intention of staying at the Gallagher's house tonight.

She went upstairs and found Lip's door open. She peaked inside and found it empty and sighed in relief. She reached down, grabbed her bag and turned to leave but bumped into Lip standing in his doorway.

His look was blank and she couldn't tell if he was still angry, even though she knew he probably was.

"Just getting my bag," she said with a sigh. She held up her bag as evidence.

Lip reached out and grabbed her bag from her grasp and tossed it back onto the ground. Tessa opened her mouth to protest but Lip had grabbed either side of her face and crushed his lips to her own.

She heard the sound of the door being shut and began to melt into his kiss. He pushed her back against his dresser and pressed his body against hers.

Tessa kissed him back and opened her mouth when she felt his tongue slide against her bottom lip, almost asking for entrance. Her hand reached up and snaked around his neck, brushing at the hair at the nape.

For a moment she fought Lip's tongue for dominance, but eventually gave in. She had really just wanted to get him worked up and knew that not immediately allowing him to get what he wanted would do just that.

As if in retaliation, Lip grabbed Tessa's wrists and pinned them to the dresser behind her. His mouth moved from hers and trailed down her neck. He switched between kissing and sucking and Tessa tried her best to suppress a moan.

Tessa yanked her hands out of his grasp and went to the hem of his shirt, pulling it over his head and tossing it to the side. Lip in turn grabbed hers and tossed it onto the floor. His lips immediately went to the valley of her breasts and she leaned her head back as he kissed his way up her chest and found a spot on her neck.

Lip ground his hips into hers and Tessa groaned at the contact and Lip's apparent arousal. He brought his attention back to her mouth and began to kiss her fiercely, as if he was still trying to get rid of some of his anger from earlier.

She reached her hand between them and shoved it into Lip's pants. She grabbed hold of him and he jerked his hips towards her in reaction. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her hand out from his pants, which caused Tessa to be confused. But she immediately found him unbuttoning his pants and pushing them down his legs. She took this moment to mirror his actions and removed her own jeans.

He stared at her for a moment but she didn't allow him to look for long as she pushed him back and they fell onto his bed. She crawled on top of him and straddled his hips. She reached down and connected their mouths. She sucked on his bottom lip and ground her hips into his.

Lip's hands sprawled across her back and one of them made its way up to her bra and clipped it off.

She sat up and quickly removed her bra and Lip's hands immediately made themselves at home on her breasts. She leaned into the contact and found herself being flipped so she was no longer on top.

He attached his mouth to one of her breasts and she arched into his mouth. She was unable to keep her mouth closed and a soft gasp escaped her lips. His other hand massaged her breast, rolling his thumb over the neglected nipple.

Her hand went to his hair and she gripped a handful tightly. She tugged at it and tried to bring his mouth back to her own. He eventually got the message and went back to her mouth, biting her lip causing her to curse.

One of her hands made its way down his back and began to push his boxers off as far as she could reach. Eventually he helped her the rest of the way and she could feel his boner pressing against the inside of her thigh.

Lip's hands went to her hips and his fingers looped inside her underwear, yanking it down her legs. She lifted her body and helped remove the last article of clothing between the two of them.

He went to align himself with her entrance but she quickly stopped him by placing a firm hand on his lip. "Condom," she gasped.

Lip gave her a confused look. He never wore condoms with girls. But he was smart enough to know that arguing with Tessa over something like this would only wind up with him taking care of it himself.

He reached into his nightstand and quickly got one. He fumbled with the wrapper but eventually slid it on. Returning to his previous position he aligned himself at her entrance and moaned at feeling how wet she was.

"Fuck," Lip groaned. He placed his head on her shoulder and tried to gather his bearings. He finally raised his head and crashed his lips to hers, while at the same time pushing into her completely.

Tessa moaned and dug her fingernails into his shoulder. Lip swore about how tight she was and once Tessa moved her hips up towards his, he began to pull out before pushing himself back in.

It didn't take them long to adapt to a rhythm and Tessa had wound one of her legs around his waist. She moved one of her hands from his shoulder and tried to move it between them to get to her destination, but Lip quickly removed her hand before replacing it with his own.

His fingers found her small bundle of nerves and he rubbed his thumb against it gently, before pressing down a little harder. Her hips jerked up and she moaned at the wonderful sensation that washed over her.

They continued this rhythm for a few minutes until Tessa felt a warm sensation begin to form in her abdomen. Lip's thrusts became sloppy and she could tell that he was close to coming just like she was.

His fingers worked harder against her clit and she yelled his name as the sensation began to build. A moment later Lip found himself twitch inside her and he came into the condom. He thrusted a few more times and twisted her clit between his thumb and index finger and felt Tessa's walls clench around him. The feeling alone was almost enough to make him come again.

Tessa felt the shockwaves ripple across her body and she sunk into the feeling completely. For such a strange thing, it was such a delicious sensation. She shuttered under Lip and he rested his forehead against hers, both of them trying to catch their breath.

A moment later, Lip pulled out of her and she hissed at the feeling of him removing himself. He carefully took the condom off and tossed it in the trash before he fell back onto the bed and stared at the ceiling.

The sound of them trying to catch their breath was the only one in the room, and Tessa was a little surprised to not hear Liam crying because they had woken him up.

Lip rolled onto his side and pulled Tessa against his chest. He shoved a leg between hers to rest and he let out a long breath before closing his eyes.

Tessa could feel sleep trying to take her, but she couldn't help but to think about how everything was about to change.

 **A:N / Sorry this was my first time writing smut. I'm comfortable with the content, but not confident in writing it, haha. So apologies for how awful it was. What did you guys think?! I'm pretty sure Lip never uses condoms, so I made sure Tessa pointed that out. She is not about to go through another Karen fiasco with him. Neal's storyline has finally wrapped up. I'll be heading into season three in the next chapter.**


	17. SEVENTEEN

**A:N / Wow. Can I apologize for not updating for almost three months? To be fair, I started a new job working 40+ hours a week and it really drained me. Then of course whenever I had time I just couldn't motivate myself to write. I also didn't realize that I sort of left you guys on a cliffhanger! I'm awful, I know. I created a polyvore account and have posted Tessa's outfits there. The link is on my profile.**

She felt fingers stroke up and down her back and Tessa slowly began to wake up. Her head was resting on Lip's chest and she finally opened her eyes. Sunlight peeked through the lines in the shades but it wasn't blinding.

Inhaling deeply she raised her head slightly to try to find a clock to see what time it was. She wasn't surprised when she couldn't find one, at least not within her sight.

"Go back to sleep," Lip mumbled.

She glanced up to see that his eyes were still closed but his fingers still absent-mindedly trailed up and down her spine. A small ache between her legs made her realize how much she had to go to the bathroom and she sat up despite Lip's command. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and looked down at Lip to see that he had finally opened his eyes.

He smiled and she returned the gesture. "I'll be right back," she said and she leaned forward and gave him a peck on the cheek.

Tessa got out of bed and found her black tank top and slipped it on. Once she found her underwear she looked for pants since she wasn't about to wander the halls in her underwear, but she didn't feel like putting her red pants back on. She snatched a pair of shorts up off the floor and put them on before she left Lip's room to find the bathroom.

It seemed like everyone was still asleep but she made sure she stayed quiet just in case. She walked into the bathroom and locked the door behind her. Tessa looked at herself in the mirror and wiped her index fingers under each eyelid to get rid of the small amount of black eyeliner that she usually wore. Once she had tossed her hair into a bun she went to the bathroom.

Heading back into the hallway she was glad that no one had woken up. She didn't feel like trying to explain her situation this early. Tessa went back into Lip's room and shut the door behind her. It seemed like Lip had gone back to sleep and she crawled back into bed, glad that her spot hadn't gotten completely cold.

The idea of joining Lip in falling back asleep was alluring, but now Tessa couldn't seem to shut her mind off. What had she done? She had slept with one of her best friend's brothers. Tessa wasn't this girl. She wasn't one for casual sex, which Lip was clearly into. She thought about how she would have to remind him of what she had once said, but dreaded the conversation knowing that he would probably not take too kindly to it.

She waited long enough to make sure Lip had definitely fallen back asleep, and once she was sure she slowly detached herself from his grip and carefully slipped out of bed. Slipping off his shorts and pulling her pants back on, Tessa gathered her things as quickly and quietly as she could. It wasn't that she was taking the cowards way out, it was just that she had to get her shit together before she could confront Lip about what had happened.

Suggesting a relationship was out of the question and Tessa nearly shuttered at the fact that she had even gone that far. She didn't want to stop spending time with the Gallaghers; she loved all of them. But she didn't want things to be crazy awkward between her and Lip. Then again, she figured he would find another girl to hook up with and be over it.

She was able to leave the house and get into her car without anyone crossing her path and was actually pretty sure that everyone was still sleeping. The clock in her car told her that it was a little past eight in the morning. Starting her engine, Tessa took off towards her apartment.

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She smiled at the customers. "Have a good day," she said. She snatched the rag off the counter and walked over to the table and began to wipe it down. Tessa glanced at the clock and groaned. The day was going to drag by. It was barely past lunchtime and she was already itching for her shift to end. She got off at eight, which was a strange time for her to leave but she wasn't about to complain. She wanted to snuggle up in her own bed and sleep as long as she could.

The bell above the door jingled and she continued to clean the table but didn't bother looking up. "Have a seat wherever." She picked up the bin that contained the dirty plates and cups and turned to see Lip standing there in front of her. His expression was blank and she swore to herself. She had hoped to avoid him just a little bit longer.

"Hey sorry, I forgot I had to work today," she lied as she rushed around him with the tub in her arms. If she acted nonchalant then he would probably believe her. Then again, Lip was pretty good with telling when other people were lying.

A chuckle escaped his lips and he followed behind her. "Right," he said. His tone made it clear he didn't believe her. She placed the tub on the counter where someone else picked it up to take it out back. She turned to face him and placed a hand on her hip.

"What do you want me to say?" She asked. "I didn't want to awkwardly run into your sister this morning? I didn't really know what to think since just last night you were freaking out at me because of how I got rid of Neal then we slept together?"

Lip didn't say anything so she decided to continue.

"You sleep with whoever the hell you want. I don't sleep around. That's not my thing. I'm not the type of girl to ask a guy to change for her. It ends in resentment and usually in someone cheating. You want me to tell you I like you Lip? I like you. But I can't put up with the other girls. I'm not asking you to give them up, but I'm telling you that last night can't happen again." She offered him a small smile and went behind the counter to grab something from out back.

The sound of the swinging door following her didn't come and she turned to see Lip following her out back. She saw Lip standing there and Sam looked up from the ketchups she had been refilling. Her face showed that of confusion but she ended up saying, "What the fuck?"

Tessa shot her a look and tugged Lip past Sam and towards the back door. She pushed him outside and let the door close behind them. "You can't just show up at my place of work and go wherever you want!" Tessa yelled at him. She honestly didn't care, and knew her boss probably wasn't even around, but that wasn't the point.

"It wasn't a mistake," Lip deadpanned.

She scoffed and rolled her eyes. "I never said that. I said it couldn't happen again. I thought you were supposed to be smart."

"Why the hell not?" He asked.

Tessa grew frustrated. Hadn't she clearly explained to him why she refused to let anything else happen between the two of them? "Because," she said through clenched teeth. "I don't do friends with benefits or open relationships."

Lip looked off to the side for a moment before looking back at Tessa. He took a step forward closer to her. "And what if it was just you?" he asked.

She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "What are you saying Lip?"

He reached out and cupped either side of her face. "What I'm saying is, I liked waking up next to you this morning and I don't want to wake up next to anyone but you. My family actually likes you which means you can be around them and I know you won't run away screaming because Carl put a frog in the microwave."

"Yeah? And what happens when you start to resent me for making you give up other girls?" She asked.

He shook his head. "I won't. I've never done the whole exclusive relationship thing and I know it won't be easy, but I'm willing to try. Doesn't that at least count for something?" Lip asked.

The smallest hint of hope was evident in his tone and Tessa found herself giving in to his logic. She couldn't deny the pull she felt towards Lip and last night had made it clear that he felt the same way. If he was willing to give monogamy a try for her, then she supposed she owed him a chance. Nodding her head she looked into his eyes. "Okay," she said slowly.

A smile broke out on his face but before he could say anything Tessa quickly spoke. "But let me talk to Fiona. Don't mention this to her, okay?" She pleaded. She knew that she had things to explain to Fiona and would rather her explain things than have her find out by accident or have Lip blab about it.

Lip chuckled and nodded his head. "Fine," he said. He pulled her forward and pressed his lips against hers. "I've gotta go stock the ice cream truck with Kev, but I'll see you later?" He asked.

Tessa nodded and watched as he walked away, going around the diner instead of trying to go back through it like he had entered it. She hoped that things would be okay. She hoped that she wouldn't regret her decision. But most importantly, she hoped Fiona took the news well.

 **A:N/ Again – hate me. I'm sorry. This is short but I wanted to get this out to you guys. I have a chunk of a scene written for a chapter coming up in two to four chapters. It's definitely intense! We're getting into the third season. I'm still trying to figure out how to work my way around Mandy and the whole college thing with Lip since she is basically the reason he goes. Anyone have any suggestions, let me know! What did you guys think! Reviews make my heart go BOOM BOOM. (My super nova girl) ;)**


	18. EIGHTEEN

**A:N/ I'm glad to see there are still some people interested in this story! I'm making a promise now to update once a week. I'm thinking Sundays? It will be the same day every week. Depending on how motivated I get, this could go up to two, but I wouldn't count on it going higher than that. Permanent Wound will end with season three. I do plan on continuing Tessa's story with a sequel, just so everyone knows. With this in mind, I suggest subscribing to an author alert for when I post a new story, as the next new story I post would be the sequel. Enjoy!**

The day dragged by and the diner was slow. Tessa made crap in tips and she knew she would have to get a different job at this point. She had no idea what had happened as of late. The diner had been fine before. It hadn't been slammed but they had always been steady and the tips had been enough for her to get by. The clock finally showed the hour of eight and she tossed her notepad on the counter.

"Bitch, where do you think you're going?" Sam walked around the counter and leaned against it, crossing her arms across her chest.

Tessa scoffed and shook her head. "Going home. I get out at eight today, **bitch**. Actually, I have to go see Fiona for a bit. But then I'm going home. My bed is calling to me." She made the last bit sound dramatic and Sam chuckled at her friend.

"So what did you screw last night?"

Her eyes bulged and she forced a laugh. "What?!" she asked.

"Oh come on!" Sam exclaimed. "You know I have that gift."

Tessa rolled her eyes. She forgot about how Sam insisted that she could tell when someone had recently had sex. Apparently, she hadn't been lying. She didn't feel like going into the whole Lip situation with Sam. She had barely wrapped her own head around it.

"It was that guy that showed up, wasn't it?" Sam asked. She wiggled her dark eyebrows at her friend and Tessa sighed, rolling her eyes. Sam chuckled and nodded her head, taking Tessa's silence as confirmation in her guess. "Not bad," she said. "You deserve it."

"Alright, I'm leaving," Tessa said. She walked away from Sam and waved her hand in the air, not bothering to look behind her at Sam.

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Tessa walked into the living room of the Gallagher's house and saw Debbie playing with Liam on the floor. She saw Fiona in the kitchen with Jimmy…or was it Steve now? She couldn't remember which was his real and which was his fake name. She made a mental note to ask Fiona when he wasn't around. They seemed to be arguing but Tessa walked into the kitchen never the less. The two exchanged glances and Fiona smiled at her friend.

"There you are," Fiona said.

"Here I am," Tessa said with a forced smile and a pinch of sarcasm. "What were you two love birds fighting about?"

"We weren't fighting," Fiona said.

At the exact same time Jimmy-Steve answered with, "Carl needs braces."

Tessa raised an eyebrow and looked between the two. She didn't see how this was an issue. Picking up on Tessa's silent question, he spoke up. "She doesn't want me paying for them, even though I have the money."

She nodded in understanding. Much like Fiona, Tessa didn't like handouts. She didn't like people paying for any of her stuff so she knew where Fiona was coming from. However, she also knew how Jimmy-Steve worked and guessed that he would probably take Carl to get the braces anyways, probably one day when Fiona was working.

"Oh," she said, keeping her mouth in the 'O' shape as she looked anywhere but the couple standing in the kitchen. If she didn't have to talk to Fiona about Lip, then she definitely would have left by now. "Mind if I steal Fiona for a minute?" Tessa asked.

Jimmy-Steve nodded but made no move to leave.

"As in, I don't want you here," Tessa dead-panned.

He held up his hands in surrender and walked into the living room to see what Debbie and Liam were doing in the living room. Fiona gave her a strange look. She knew Tessa didn't exactly know Jimmy but it was strange of her friend to ask him to leave like that. She knew something was up.

Fiona leaned into the counter and looked at Tessa. "What's going on?" she asked.

Tessa pursed her lips together and avoided Fiona's glance for a moment longer. Finally she looked at Fiona and let out the breath she hadn't known she had been holding in. "So…some stuff has happened and I wanted to be the one to tell you."

Fiona furrowed her eyebrows. "Okay," she said slowly.

"Last night after Neal was arrested, Kev and Lip came back here and told me what happened. I already knew he was going to get arrested because I made sure the cops knew what he looked like and that he was known for selling drugs. Lip freaked out saying that I was snitching and not South side so I snapped, saying I wasn't South side. Needless to say he stomped upstairs and I wanted to leave."

The eldest Gallagher child said nothing and Tessa could tell she was trying to put the pieces together before Tessa could finish her story.

"I went to get my stuff and some things…might have happened between me and Lip." She rested her elbows on the counter and buried her face in her hands. "I'm so sorry Fiona. I have no idea how any of this happened." She finally looked up to see how angry her friend was, but found that her face showed no anger at all.

Instead, a soft smile was on Fiona's face. "Tessa, I'm not mad."

"Why not?" She asked, dumbstruck. "You're one of my best friends and I slept with your brother. Isn't that against those stupid girl rules, or something?"

Fiona laughed and ran a hand through her hair. "And since when do Gallaghers follow the rules?"

This caused Tessa to chuckle and she nodded her head in agreement.

"Honestly? I think you'd be good for Lip. Karen's gone, thank god, and it's his senior year. I think he needs something steady in his life."

She bit the inside of her cheek and thought about Fiona's words. "He came by the diner and said he wanted to try…whatever this is, out. I want to trust him Fi, I really do, but I'm just not sure he can give up the freedom of sleeping with whoever he wants."

Fiona sighed and nodded her head. She knew Lip was a little whore so she was well aware that Tessa's fear stemmed from a true place. "I can't assure you that he won't, Tessa. My brother has never done the whole relationship thing and I'm not going to make promises for him, but know that if he does something like that, I'll be by _your_ side. Okay?" Fiona looked at Tessa, eyebrows raised as she waited for confirmation.

Pursing her lips she nodded her head. She didn't want to come between the siblings but she couldn't deny the comfort she felt in Fiona's promise. If Lip ever did hook up with another girl she couldn't see any reason that justified his actions.

"Where is he, by the way?" Fiona asked.

"Uhm. I think he's filling the ice cream truck with Kev," she replied.

Fiona sighed and nodded her head. "I'm not a fan of that thing, but he makes some good cash off of it."

Tessa nodded and hummed to herself in agreement, even though she really didn't know much about this ice cream truck that Lip and Fiona had mentioned. She stood from her seat and glanced at the clock. It was nearly nine and she was exhausted. "I'm going to head home, okay?" she asked.

Fiona turned from the dishes she had started in the sink. "Not spending the night?" she asked.

She shook her head. "I'm exhausted and want to sleep in my own bed. I'll swing by tomorrow morning, okay?"

"Alright. Have a good night!" Fiona yelled after her as Tessa walked through the kitchen and into the living room.

"Are you leaving Tessa?" Debbie asked, looking up from what she had been playing with Liam.

She smiled at the red head and nodded. "Yeah I worked all day and I want to get a good night of sleep. But I told Fiona I would drop by in the morning, okay?"

Debbie grinned at the idea and nodded her head. "Okay!"

"See ya," Jimmy said to Tessa and she waved goodbye to Fiona's boyfriend.

Once she got in the car she realized she forgot to ask Fiona about his actual name. She pulled out her phone and quickly texted her friend.

 _Jimmy or Steve? I can't remember._

She tossed her phone onto the passenger seat and took off towards her apartment, knowing she probably wouldn't get a response from Fiona since she had been doing the dishes when she had left.

Once she had arrived at her apartment she grabbed her phone and chuckled, seeing the text from Fiona.

 _Jimmy, LOL. Debs calls him Jimmy-Steve._

Tessa laughed since that's what she had been calling him in her head the whole time since she had learned that he had a new name. She had actually been quite impressed when she had learned that Debbie had been the one to discover that Jimmy wasn't actually named Steve.

She went into her apartment and dropped her things on the small table near her door. She hadn't been there in a few days and Neal had left the place a mess. She made a mental note to sweep her apartment for any drugs he had stashed away, knowing that it was highly likely he had done just that. Tessa showered and stayed in a little longer than usual, relishing in the hot water almost burning her skin. After getting dressed into some comfortable shorts and a big t-shirt she walked out into her kitchen and began to clean up. She really just wanted to go to bed but also shuttered at the idea of having to deal with the entire house tomorrow.

The sound of the door opening made her freeze in her place. She had definitely locked the door, hadn't she? **Neal.** She felt her heart drop into her stomach and she reached for a knife sitting on the counter. How the hell had he made bail? Tessa stayed in the kitchen where she was hidden. She clutched the knife so hard her fingers began to turn white. The sound of footsteps approaching made her jaw clench and she kept her grip on the knife.

She raised the knife slightly when she heard him about to round the corner and enter the kitchen. Tessa nearly jumped out of her skin when she was met not with Neal, but with Lip.

His eyes widened and immediately went to the knife in her hand. She sucked in a deep breath and closed her eyes. She dropped the knife on the counter and ran a hand through her still-wet locks.

"What the fuck, Lip!" She yelled. She pushed him slightly against the wall. She could tell that he was fighting off a laugh.

"Why did you have a knife?" he asked.

She glared at him and ignored his question. "How did you get in here?"

He rolled his eyes and held up his tool. "The key."

It was Tessa's turn to roll her eyes. "You mean the key that I gave to Fiona? For _emergencies_."

He shrugged and tucked the key back into his pocket. She doubted Fiona would be getting that back anytime soon.

"I thought you were staying at the house?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against the counter.

Tessa sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "I was tired," she said. "I just wanted to go to bed."

He nodded but she could tell that something else was bothering him.

She could see that his skin was slightly red from the summer sun and she saw his white skin peeking out from beneath his tank top, evidence of where his skin had been protected. He smelled of stale cigarettes and weed and was surprised the faint smell of beer wasn't mixed in with all of that.

"Did you tell Fiona?"

His voice pulled her from her thoughts and she nodded her head. "She didn't really care. She said it would be 'good for you'." She put the last part in air quotes and laughed at Lip.

He raised an eyebrow and scoffed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Tessa gave him a thoughtful look. "I believe her exact words were 'he needs something steady in his life'. Whatever the hell that means." She chuckled and ran a hand through her wet hair again. She should really blow-dry it before she went to bed, but chances were she would be too lazy to complete the task.

Lip scoffed again. "She's one to talk."

"Don't be a dick," Tessa warned. "She's just trying to be supportive." She didn't dare mention the fiasco with Karen and how well _that_ had gone. "Look, I don't care if you stay but you have to shower if you do. You reek." Tessa was blunt but she was far too exhausted to try to spare any feelings.

He laughed and nodded his head. "Alright." He walked past her and into the bathroom to take a shower like she had demanded.

Tessa shut off the light in the kitchen and living room, locked the door (again) and went into her bedroom. She picked up a few things that Neal had left lying around and she tossed some clothes into her laundry basket. She threw her wet hair up into a messy bun and pulled back the covers on her bed. She crawled in and got comfortable, finally pulling the comforter up over her body. The one good thing about her apartment was that it had central air. It was a shit apartment, but for some reason it had central air. Her room was a comfortable temperature for the end of a Chicago summer and she knew it wouldn't take long for her to fall asleep.

The only light on in her bedroom was the one on her nightstand; something she could easily reach to turn off once Lip had showered. Tessa rolled over onto her stomach and slid her hands under her pillow. She closed her eyes but made sure she stayed awake, knowing that Lip would probably be mad if she fell asleep on him. She had to remember to figure out why he had seemed pissy about her not staying at his house in the first place.

Ten minutes later she heard him leave the bathroom and walk into her room. She didn't open her eyes but felt the bed dip and him crawl into bed next to her. She lifted her head and reached out to turn the lamp off. Lip smelled like clean soap and she shifted her body so she was resting her head in the crook of his neck. His hand reached for hers and his other absent-mindedly wrapped around her waist and drew soft circles on her hipbone.

"It's quiet," he spoke.

Her chuckle was only that of air blowing out of her nose. "Because I don't live with six other people."

Tessa felt his chest vibrate with his own chuckle. "I guess so."

There was a long silence between the two and Tessa felt like she was finally going to be able to sleep, but Lip decided to speak up again.

"Don't leave like that again."

His tone was soft. It was neither demanding nor suggestive. Perhaps this was what had been bothering him earlier? Had Lip been hurt that Tessa had snuck out early in the morning? She found the idea ludicrous since it was likely Lip had done just that to so many of his conquests over the years.

She didn't answer but instead lifted her head and placed a chaste kiss on his lips. This was new territory for the both of them; she just hoped he wouldn't abandon ship.

 **A:N/ A bit longer than seventeen. What did you guys think? Remember, reviews make me want to write. It makes me see that people enjoy reading this! This was half of the first episode of season three. So we are about halfway through PW! REVIEW!**


	19. NINETEEN

**A:N/ I suck. I know. I had a Shameless dream last night and got the urge to write for it.**

A few days passed and things appeared to be normal, or as normal as things could be for the Gallaghers and Tessa. Jimmy had gone ahead and paid the two grand to get Carl braces and Debbie had become obsessed with Frank being missing. Tessa had been busy working but Lip had spent almost every night at her apartment. However, the two hadn't had sex since their first time and Tessa couldn't help but to think something was wrong. She expected Lip to be the horny teenager she knew him to be, but that wasn't the case.

Her cell phone rang and she was pulled from her thoughts. Ian's name flashed across her screen and she answered it.

"Lip's in jail."

Tessa closed her eyes and clenched her jaw. Of course he was. She wished Ian had been calling her to hang out but apparently things could never be that simple.

"What?" She snapped.

Ian went off explaining about how they had stolen this device from a college and two rent-a-cops had chased them across town. Lip had let Ian away, knowing that he wouldn't be able to get into West Point with a Felony on his record. Tessa sighed. At least Lip had done something selfless for Ian.

"Would you like me to meet you at the station?" Tessa asked, her tone showing how exhausted she was.

She glanced down at her work uniform then at the clock on her stove. She was going to be late.

"Yeah I'll be there as soon as I can. I'm trying to get ahold of a bail bondsman but I'm not having much luck. Do you know of any?"

Tessa shook her head then realized Ian couldn't see her. "Any idea how much his bail might be?" She asked.

"I can't see it being more than a thousand. I guess it depends on how much Lip pisses the Judge off," Ian explained.

She huffed and walked into her bedroom to grab her emergency cash. It was a little less than a thousand dollars but it would have to do. If his bail was more then he was going to have to sit and wait. All Tessa knew was that she was going to kill Lip if he did anything to forfeit her money.

"I'll be down there with some cash. Let me know if you do get a hold of someone though," Tessa said.

She heard Ian sigh in relief. "Thank you so much Tessa."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Once she got down to the station she found someone to help her and they pointed her in the right direction. She paid Lip's five hundred dollar cash bail and waited for him to be released. Luckily he had been able to get in front of a Judge for his arraignment that day, but Tessa knew he would get his next court date that day as well.

She leaned against the wall and crossed her arms over her chest. Tessa tilted her head back and closed her eyes. Sam had agreed to cover for her until she got to work, but hadn't made any promises about their boss not noticing that Tessa wasn't there. The two girls had always been good at confusing him when it came to when they were and were not supposed to be at work.

Someone leaned against the wall next to her and she cracked open an eye to see Ian standing there, wearing his ROTC uniform and everything. If she weren't so angry about Lip getting arrested then she would have made a comment about how handsome Ian looked in his uniform. Unfortunately, Tessa was still peeved.

"Thanks for coming," Ian said. "I couldn't get ahold of the bondsman and Mandy wasn't answering her phone so I couldn't get the number for the one her family uses."

She pursed her lips and nodded her head. Looking up she saw Lip being lead down the hall and towards them. He signed out at the desk and walked towards the duo.

"Hey," Lip said, greeting his brother first. Ian tossed him his pack of cigarettes and Ian returned the greeting. "Thanks man." He gave Ian a quick hug and turned to look at Tessa.

"Hey," he said, leaning forward and giving her a kiss. She glared at him and smacked him upside the head. "Ass-hat," she spat.

Lip's hand flew to his head and he shouted in pain. "What the fuck?" Lip looked to Ian and Tessa turned and started to walk down the hallway to leave the building. "What the hell's that about?" Lip asked his brother.

"Wasn't too happy about you getting arrested. Couldn't get ahold of a bail bondsman so she forked over the cash for your bail," Ian explained. He held up a lighter for Lip to light his cigarette.

"Shit," Lip swore under his breath. He hadn't realized that Tessa had done something like that for him. Hell, he doubted she even had that kind of cash to spare.

"How'd it go?" Ian asked, pulling Lip from his thoughts.

"Public defender thinks I can get off with community service if we take the laser back. Underprivileged kid trying to gain access to scientific equipment he doesn't have at his ghetto-ass, underfunded high school," he explained.

Lip caught up with Tessa and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Thanks for bailing me out," he said, puffing out some smoke.

"I swear to God, Lip. If you miss that hearing I'm going to cut your balls off with a butter knife," she threatened. She didn't even bother looking over at her boyfriend. He was smart enough to know how mad she was.

Lip pressed a kiss to her temple but Tessa wasn't relaxing. He was so nonchalant about the whole thing and she knew she was going to regret putting that money up.

She pulled away from him and looked at Lip and Ian. "Now I have to get to work. Get arrested again, and your ass is rotting in jail." Tessa put on a fake smile and waved at Ian before leaving the police station.

Lip looked over at Ian and grinned. "Ray of sunshine that one," he joked.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The next day Tessa sat with Fiona over at V's house while Fiona looked for a job on the computer. V and Kev were getting ready for their live cam show and Tessa was having a hard time not giggling over how casual the whole thing was to everyone. Sometimes she laughed when she felt awkward or nervous, and this was definitely one of those situations.

"I'd suggest the diner but it's been going downhill fast. Even I need to find a new job," Tessa said as Fiona read out some of the jobs she saw.

"Or there's the Post Office," Kev suggested.

V scoffed. "Uniforms are for shit. Everyone looks like they have a dick in those pants."

Tessa glanced over to see V adjusting her tits in her bra and she raised her eyebrows before looking back over at Fiona and Kev.

"Oh wow. A lot of people queuing up online for this. This just might work!" Kev exclaimed. He was pretty excited about the whole thing but Tessa didn't really get it.

Fiona turned around in her chair to look at V. "Club's gonna open up the outdoor patio soon, maybe Meg would give me another shot at managing or at least get my old job back."

"Slinging appletinis? You don't need to get your GED to shake your titties and collect tips from frat boys," Kev said.

"The money's good, and it doesn't require prerequisites," Fiona pointed out.

"Requires a couple," Kev added. "Can you set up the camera please?" He asked. "We're ready to go." He put on his white wig and Tessa glanced over at Fiona.

"Hey do you think you could let me know if that club is hiring waitresses when you go talk to that Meg person?" Tessa asked. "If I'm gonna get hit on I'd rather be making good tips than the shit ones I make at the diner." Especially if she wasn't going to get that bail money back from Lip.

Fiona smiled and nodded her head. "Of course."

It took Tessa a moment but she realized that Fiona's smile was because Tessa had finally asked her for a favor. She bit the inside of her cheek but kept her comments to herself. It wasn't like she was asking Fiona to vouch for her. She just wanted to know if the club was hiring.

"Who are you supposed to be?" Fiona asked, turning back to Kev.

"Thomas Jefferson." He turned and grinned at V. "Okay, Miss Sally. You get your revenge for me raping you in the slave quarters." He turned so his ass was facing V and Tessa stood up.

"And that's _my_ queue to leave." She quickly left the house and walked back over to Fiona's. The brunette wasn't too far behind her and she was laughing when she walked in the house.

"Sometimes I forget that most couples aren't like Kev and V," Fiona said.

Tessa chuckled and nodded her head, not really sure what to say.

"Speaking of couples, how are things with Lip?"

She pursed her lips and went to sit on the couch. "I got pretty pissed at him when he got arrested the other day. I had to put up five hundred dollars cash because Ian couldn't get ahold of a bail bondsman. And - " Tessa went to continue but was cut off by Fiona.

"What?!" She shrieked.

"Shit," Tessa muttered. "Please don't say anything."

Fiona didn't say anything for a moment, as if she couldn't decide if she wanted to comply with Tessa's request or not. She was furious for what had happened, but even angrier for Lip not telling her about it.

"I swear I'll get you the money back," Fiona said.

Tessa shook her head. "It's fine. I'll make sure he gets to his next hearing," Tessa said.

Fiona sighed. "But you shouldn't have to," she said, shaking her head and running a hand through her curls.

A dry chuckle escaped Tessa's lips. "This isn't my first rodeo when it comes to bailing a boyfriend out of jail." She didn't want to think about Neal but she couldn't help but to recall all the times she had done the same thing for him that she had done for Lip.

"But anyways," Tessa began. "He didn't come over that night like he has been so I'm not sure if he is being weird or if he wanted to give me some space because he knew how pissed I was." Tessa groaned and rubbed her face. "I hate this shit. I hate this stupid, girly, over-thinking every fucking thing a guy does."

Fiona smirked. "That's usually what happens when you really like a guy," she said.

Tessa dropped her hands and glared at her friend. "Not. Helping."

Laughing, Fiona reached over and lightly tapped Tessa on the cheek. "Please. Even _I_ want you and Lip to work out. I'm going to be as helpful as can be." She tossed Tessa a wink.

Tessa rolled her eyes and groaned. "Super."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After apologizing, Lip had convinced Tessa to come with him to the Bot Championship with Ian and Carl. The device he had stolen, and gotten arrested for, had been for his robot. Tessa had wanted to beat the shit out of him for getting arrested over a stupid robot competition, but she agreed to go and support him anyways.

She walked down the steps and glanced around at the people in the building. Ian and Carl were carefully carrying the robot down the stairs behind Tessa and Lip walked up to the sign in table where he began to converse in witty banter with the guy sitting there.

"Back for yet another round of ritual humiliation, Gallagher?" The frat boy asked, a smug grin plastered across his face.

Lip leaned down, resting his hands on the table. "Finally gonna win this time, Goff."

Tessa rolled his eyes. He even had a douche bag name.

"College entrants only today, it was on the website," he said. "Or don't you have internet down at MLK charter?"

Her eyes went to Lip, interested to see his reply.

"What's the matter, Goff? You afraid a teenager is gonna kick the shit out of one of your half-assed bucket of bolts?"

"Your engineering can't compete at the black bot championship trophy level, Gallagher."

"Who'd you steal your ideas from this time? Was it Carnegie Mellon or MIT?" Lip asked, not phased by Goff's statement. Tessa had to admit; she found Lip's remark to be ironic considering he had stolen the laser from a college himself.

"Entry fee is one fifty and we don't take food stamps." Lip put the money in the trophy and they all walked down the stairs to the small arena where the robot battle would take place.

Tessa thought the whole thing was lame but the boys were so into it, so she was finding the whole thing a little amusing. The boys placed the robot on the ground and they all finished watching the current battle that was taking place. One robot was destroying the other and Lip leaned over to Ian and muttered something into his ear.

A few minutes later, Lip's robot was finally up and he was conveniently up against the Goff guy he had been arguing with earlier. The announcer spoke over everyone and Tessa watched at Goff's bot managed to pick up Lip's and smash it down. Luckily, it hadn't damaged it but Ian was yelling at Lip to get the robot out of the way so it wouldn't be smashed again.

Lip and Ian began to argue and Goff's robot began to chase Lip's robot. But Lip ran his into a corner and turned it around and waited. Tessa had no idea what he was doing but Lip seemed to have a plan as he showed no worry as Goff's robot began to approach his.

But then a red beam shot out from Lip's robot and it hit Goff's, making it explode. The announcer announced Lip as the new champion and the whole crowd cheered. Tessa found herself throwing her hands in the air and yelling in victory.

Lip turned to her with a grin and she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him in for a rough kiss, which he gladly returned. They pulled apart, still grinning at one another but Tessa released one arm to wrap around Carl who had found his way to her side.

"Was that awesome or what?" Tessa asked.

Carl was practically in heaven. "It was sick!" He exclaimed.

Lip and Carl went to gather their robot while Lip grabbed Tessa's hand to go grab the cash and trophy. She knew he probably didn't give a shit about the trophy, but knew he would take it just to rub it in Goff's face.

When they got back to the Gallagher house they hung out upstairs for a little bit until they heard Fiona come home. The three of them came downstairs and Lip held the trophy in the air.

"You won?" Fiona asked, a smile on her face.

"Oh yeah," Lip said.

"Oh nothing left but smoke and metal and bruised geek egos." Ian walked over and placed a kiss on Liam's head.

"Yeah, plus four hundred bucks cash prize for first place. Thought I could help out a little bit with the property tax bill. Do you want me to run the payment down to the post office before school?" He asked.

Fiona shook her head. "No, I got it." Tessa noticed that she avoided eye contact with Lip but kept her mouth shut, not wanting to cause any drama over something that could be nothing.

Debbie pushed Ian away from sitting in a chair, claiming that it was still Frank's seat. Tessa had almost forgotten that Frank hadn't been seen in a while. She supposed she had become so used to just not seeing him anyways.

"Anything at the hospitals?" Debbie asked Fiona, a hopeful look on her face.

"I forgot to check today, Debs. I'll call after dinner okay?" Fiona was busy putting plates on the table and Tessa reached over to grab whatever she could to help.

"Alright! Here we go guys. Dinner's served!" Jimmy announced, setting a big bowl down on the table.

Tessa sat down next to Lip and everyone began passing around food and putting some onto his or her own plates. They all talked about the robot battle and Carl went on and on about how awesome it had been. For someone who had been in such an awful mood lately, Tessa found that she was very happy for the first time in a long time.

She rested her hand on Lip's knee and he smiled over at her while he continued to put some pasta onto his plate. When he was done his hand reached down to cover hers and he squeezed it real quick.

A silence slowly began to fill the room and Lip and Tessa exchanged glances, unsure of what had happened during their little moment. They noticed everyone looking towards the living room and they both turned to see Frank standing there.

No one said anything and the silence felt like it lasted forever. Finally Debbie rose from her seat and ran over to Frank, engulfing him in a hug.

Then everyone began talking again, ignoring Frank and Tessa had a hard time adjusting to the situation. Lip went on explaining the laser and how it worked to Fiona and Jimmy like nothing had even interrupted their dinner in the first place.

 **A:N/ Hey guys – please note that any legal knowledge I put in here comes from the state I live in, not Illinois. I work in a law office so that's where I'm getting the stuff for the hearings, etc. What did you guys think? Please let me know!**


	20. TWENTY

Whatever concerns Tessa had about Lip keeping it in his pants had disappeared the previous night. He had been in such a good mood from winning the bot battle and Tessa had been in a good mood as well and didn't even protest when Lip began pulling at her clothes in his room. Normally Tess might insist on waiting for everyone to go to bed or just flat out refuse since there were so many people in the house, but she had gone with it and the sex had been great.

She cracked open an eye and heard people in the bathroom down the hall. The voices were muffled but she guessed that it was probably Fiona and Jimmy. She still found herself calling him Jimmy-Steve in her head from time to time.

Tessa lifted her head and glanced over at Lip who was still sleeping. Knowing that she wouldn't be able to fall back asleep, she continued to lie on her stomach but moved her head so she was looking over at Lip. She whispered his name but he didn't even budge.

She moved her hand under the covers and let her fingers slowly travel down his stomach to his groin, a smug smirk on her face as she did so.

The action clearly worked, as Lip breathed in deep and opened his eyes quickly. "Jesus," he muttered under his breath. He hadn't exactly been expecting that kind of wake up call, especially from Tessa. "What got into you?"

Lip waited a beat before speaking again. "Oh wait. I know." He leaned over and quickly kissed her. "Me."

Tessa let her mouth drop open in horror but she was also fighting back a laugh. She lightly slapped at his dick and Lip immediately curled in on himself, groaning in a little pain while laughing as well.

"Well now you're definitely not getting a blow job this morning," Tessa said, raising her eyebrows at Lip. She pushed herself off the mattress and began to look for her clothes.

"What?!" Lip exclaimed. He reached over and wrapped his arms around her waist, trying to pull her back into bed and against his chest. "Come on. Were you really?" He asked, planting kissing along her shoulder.

Tessa chuckled and shrugged her shoulders. "I guess you'll never know." She pulled away from him and found her underwear and quickly pulled them on. She hadn't actually planned on blowing him, but seeing his reaction at what she had said had been enough to put her in a good mood.

She slowly began to find the rest of her clothes until she was finally dressed. She wore a t-shirt that belonged to Lip instead of the one she had been wearing yesterday. Tessa sat back down on the bed and watched as Lip finally sat up, the covers pooling around his waist.

"Such a cock tease," he muttered, shaking his head in disbelief.

Tessa grinned and batted her eyelashes dramatically. "I know," she said. "But let's face it, that's what you're _really_ attracted to. The challenge." Tessa was half kidding around but she kept a grin on her face. She would be lying if she said she hadn't thought about Lip only sleeping with her because she had shot him down for so long.

"Nah," Lip said, finally getting out of bed to find some boxers. "You just have really good weed."

"Lip!" Tessa scolded. She got off the bed and headed towards the door, but made sure to kick him in the ass before leaving his room.

She ran into Fiona in the hallway, clad in only her towel with her hair still soaking wet. "Hey T!" She exclaimed. Tessa could see the stress behind her eyes.

She saw Jimmy leave the bathroom and her eyes traveled between Fiona and Jimmy. "Oh," she said slowly. "Is he going to the bathroom in front of you?" Tessa asked, scrunching up her nose in disgust.

Fiona's eyes widened and she nodded her head. "What the fuck, right?"

Tessa folded her arms across her chest and shuttered and how gross she thought it was. "They don't see it that way. Trust me. I tried explaining it to my ex maybe a hundred times and he just didn't see the issue." It had gotten to the point where Tessa had started locking the bathroom door in her own home.

"Great," Fiona mumbled.

All of a sudden the boys began running through the hall and Tessa found herself pressing against the wall to avoid getting run over. She hadn't even heard Lip leave his room. How the hell had he gotten dressed and downstairs so quickly?

"What going on?" Fiona demanded.

"Frank drunk, looking for a bed," Lip said quickly. He ran into his room and Tessa could see him beginning to move the dresser. Before she got locked out she hurried in and began to help Lip move the dresser, even though he didn't need it.

"Who the hell let him in?" She heard Fiona yell.

"Debbie."

"We begged her not to," Ian said.

Lip scoffed. "He's not hot-bunking my bed."

Tessa heard Carl speak next. "Why can't he sleep out on the porch? It's warm enough." Tessa chuckled at his statement, mostly because he sounded so serious about the suggestion.

"I want my old bed back!" Frank's voice hollered up the stairs.

Tessa peeked her head out of the door while Lip leaned against the dressed, resting his arms along the top. She saw Fiona turn on her heel and run into her bedroom.

"Oh hell no!" The eldest Gallagher said.

Tessa saw Debbie helping Frank up the stairs and telling him that he could sleep in her room.

"Wouldn't do it Debs. He's especially ripe this morning," Lip said.

"Frank smells like dog piss!" Carl yelled.

Tessa quickly pulled herself back into Lip's room as Frank passed by, noting that neither Gallagher boy had been exaggerating about Frank smelling awful. She made a gagging noise and Lip glanced back at her, shooting her a small grin.

"Not dog piss!" Frank denied. "Gary the homeless guy."

She heard Debbie usher Frank into her room and Lip and Tessa exchanged glances. She could tell Lip was annoyed and he slid his way out between the small space the dresser had been unable to fill.

Tessa sighed and laid back on the bed, staring at the ceiling as she heard the siblings arguing with one another about Debbie letting Frank back into the house. She was lucky that she never had to deal with that. But her mom had never been around much, so she couldn't decide if she had it better or worse.

She heard everyone head downstairs and Tessa frowned. Well, apparently Lip wasn't coming back to get her. Standing up she grabbed her bag and went downstairs, only to walk in on Fiona asking Jimmy if he had washed up after he pooped. She wrinkled her nose in disgust and sat down on the last step.

"You going to school today?" Tessa asked Lip. Not that it mattered since she had to work anyways.

He looked up from what he had been doing with Liam and shook his head. "Oh, no. Later. Gotta skip my first three periods so I can start clocking community service hours."

Lip walked over to the dishwasher and pulled a large can out. "And the last fifty bucks to the property tax, yo!" He said, stuffing some money into the can. "That should bring us right around where we need to be." He pulled out the envelope and looked inside, and she noted a look of confusion cross his face.

"I didn't put in the money from that last toxic waste gig I had yet," Fiona explained.

He nodded. "Okay, that's cool. Hand it over and I'll drop it off before I go to community service, pay the tax man."

Fiona didn't turn to look at her brother this time. "I don't have it."

"Don't have what?"

"The money. I used it to put a down deposit on a club night."

Tessa wondered if it was the same club they had talked about the other day with V. But why would Fiona give money to the club when they had been talking about how much they needed the money? She would have to ask about it later since it seemed to be a sore topic at the moment.

"Alright!" Jimmy exclaimed, clapping his hands together. "Debs, Carl, let's go. School time."

Debbie stood. "Gotta bring daddy his breakfast first." She ran up the stairs past Tessa and she tried not to stare at the argument that was about to break out.

"Uh, but the property tax, that's already two weeks late," Lip said. He was pissed but just hadn't gotten to the point where steam was blowing out of his ears.

"We're always two weeks late," Fiona said with a shrug. "I'll have the money back right after the party."

"It wasn't yours to spend!" Lip exclaimed, his voice rising a little.

"Yeah, it was. I earned it."

"Oh. Oh, so that's how we're doing this now. Okay, well, I'll take the money I made last week and buy an iPad. Ian, what are you gonna do with your paycheck, huh? New leather jacket? Liam?" Tessa bit the inside of her cheek and hoped that Ian would stay out of it, which from the lack of response seemed to be something he was doing.

"I have an opportunity to make some real money here, Lip." Fiona was trying her hardest to make Lip see that what she had done would be good for everyone in the end.

"It's not that easy!" He exclaimed.

"I've been in the club business a long time."

"Yeah, sure you have. Slinging cocktails, okay? Look, you don't know shit about promoting a club party," Lip said.

Tessa rose from her seat just in case she had to try to reel Lip back in. Gallagher fights were always heavy ones, but Tessa didn't want Lip and Fiona to get into another huge fight. They had barely recovered from the last one.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Lip." Fiona scoffed and walked out of the kitchen and into the living room.

Lip looked at Ian for a moment before turning and looking at Tessa. He slapped the envelope in his hand and exhaled a deep breath.

"So I'm gonna go," Tessa said slowly. She picked up her back from the step.

Ian placed his cup in the sink. "Give me a ride to school?" He asked.

Tessa nodded and avoided eye contact with Lip.

"So I guess you're not bringing me down so I can do that community service," Lip scoffed.

Tessa scowled and crossed her arms over her chest. "Don't get pissy with me because of your fight with Fiona. You never asked for a ride and of course I'd give you one, but not if you're going to be a dick."

Lip clenched his jaw and nodded. "Whatever, just go." He turned and walked up the stairs.

She huffed in disbelief and turned to look at Ian who merely shrugged. The two began to walk out of the house and towards Tessa's car.

"Money is a touchy subject since Monica and Frank found the squirrel fund last time and spent all of it," he explained.

She nodded and pursed her lips. "I know. I was there. That doesn't mean he has to be an asshole to me. I'm the one that gave him five hundred bucks so he didn't have to sit in jail."

Ian wrapped an arm around her shoulder and sighed. "Sorry about him."

Tessa shrugged. "You don't have to apologize for him. He's a big boy. He makes his own decisions."

She walked around her car and got into the drivers side while Ian got into the passenger seat. She sighed and glanced over at the red head. "I wish I was dating you instead." She pouted her lip at Ian.

Ian laughed and nodded. "I have boyfriend drama too," he said.

Tessa started her car and pulled away from the curb. "Yeah but I bet you're an awesome boyfriend," she pointed out with a grin on her face.

"True."

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Work sucked and Tessa made shit tips. She really had to talk to Fiona about getting a job at the club. But Fiona was busy running around trying to get things ready for her night promoting the club and Tessa didn't want to distract her from that, especially when she had money on the line. She would feel awful if she took time from Fiona and she ended up losing money.

Tessa considered not going back to the Gallagher house after work but she had received a text from Lip asking when she was coming over. Apparently he had forgotten all about the little tiff they had that morning. Tessa wanted to tell him off or ignore his text, but she really just wanted to lay in bed with him.

When she got to their house she went upstairs to find Lip sitting on his bed. There were college pamphlets sitting on his nightstand and Tessa furrowed her eyebrows.

"What are these for?" She asked, walking over and picking them up. She knew Lip was graduating this year but she hadn't heard him talk about college at all. Sure, she knew he was smart enough to get in but until recently they hadn't had the type of relationship where she could push him into something like this. Besides, she didn't want him to end up resenting her over something like that.

"Oh uh. Mandy brought them by," Lip said. He was looking down at his notebook and Tessa glanced up at him. He seemed to be lost in his own thoughts.

Why the hell had Mandy brought Lip college pamphlets? She knew Lip had slept with her before, but had things been more serious than she had thought? While she knew Ian was a friend of Mandy's, she also knew that Ian would tell her if she had to worry about Mandy or not.

"Oh. That was…nice of her."

He hummed in response and she dropped the pamphlet in her hand and turned to look at him. "Are you busy? Because I can leave." She tried to contain her temper but it was clear that she was a little peeved.

"Sorry it's just kind of hard to concentrate on anything with the, uh, porno going on across the hall," he said.

She frowned and paused, unsure as to how she hadn't heard Fiona and Jimmy having sex in the first place.

"If you need time to yourself that's fine. I don't want to be the needy girlfriend who gets pissy because her boyfriend isn't paying attention to her. I just would rather go home and sleep if you're preoccupied with something else," she explained. Not to mention, she couldn't stop thinking about Mandy bringing Lip those college pamphlets.

He sighed and tossed his notebook to the side. "I'm just trying to think of how I'm going to make up the one thousand bucks she's gonna lose." He moved across his bed until he was kneeling on it in front of Tessa. "But I'm also kinda turned on right now."

She had to bite her cheek to keep herself from grinning, but Lip could see the smile tugging at the corner of her lips. He wrapped his hand around her neck and pulled her towards him, crashing his lips against hers.

Tessa pulled back for a moment to lift her top over her head and he took the opportunity to do the same. Once they had both completed that task Lip pulled her onto the bed and pressed his body against hers.

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The next morning Tessa found herself sitting at the breakfast counter eating cereal while glancing through the text messages on her phone. Sam was the only one who really texted her but she had been bitching about not seeing Tessa as of late.

She was pulled from looking at her phone when Fiona came downstairs saying good morning to everyone.

"Jimmy gonna come down to make us breakfast?" Carl asked.

"He's sleeping," Fiona replied. "Eat your cereal."

"Wore him out, huh?" Lip asked, a smug smirk on his face. Tessa fought the urge to kick him under the table.

Fiona glared at her brother. "You too. Eat your cereal."

Carl sighed. "Spoiled now. Need an omelet."

"So, um, how's the club night thing coming?" Lip asked.

"Gonna be a big success. Probably make enough money to roll it into another one. Take out a small loan, really get things going." The excitement was clear in Fiona's voice, but Tessa detected a hint of something else that made her believe even Fiona didn't believe her own words.

"What's wrong, Debs?" Fiona asked.

Debbie came through the kitchen slowly, the sleep still in her eyes. "Got home late. Baby-sitting." The red head reached into the cabinet to get a bowl so she could pour herself some cereal.

"So the ghetto girl thinks she can live the American dram, huh?" Lip asked.

Fiona chuckled. "Maybe it's my time, Lip."

Normally this would be the time that Tessa would give Fiona some encouraging words, but she was too tired to try to deal with a pissed off Lip again. She didn't need him thinking that she was on Fiona's side and against him.

"Don't you see, it doesn't work like that sis. When you're poor, only way to make money is to steal it or scam it, like Don King or Joe Kennedy," Lip explained.

Tessa made a note to talk to Lip about it later. She knew he was peeved about Fiona taking the money, but she knew that his negative comments weren't helping the situation.

"Daddy's home!" Frank yelled. She hadn't even heard the front door open. "Brought friends," Frank said.

"Howdy!" One of the friends yelled.

"Just dump it," Frank muttered.

Tessa scooped another bite of cereal into her mouth. She heard Ian jump from his seat at the table behind her and rush into the living room. "Hey!" He yelled. That's my bike."

Frank shook his head. "Doesn't really work anymore," he said.

"Yeah, because you bent the rim, Frank." Ian was peeved and Tessa didn't blame him. "And where's the seat?" He asked.

"That's why it hurt so much when I rode it!" Frank exclaimed to his friends. "Come on fellas. Get some brekkie, soak up the alcohol."

One of Frank's friends walked up to Fiona. "Hey do you have sourdough?" He asked.

"Hey!" Fiona yelled. "This is our food."

"Don't be rude," Frank chastised. "Is this about money, Fiona? Because I am happy to pay my share. That's all you ever want from me anymore anyway." Frank danced around the kitchen and pulled something out of his pocket. He poured some white powder on a piece of foil and looked at Fiona with his eyebrows raised. "There. You happy, huh? That's about three hundred dollars worth."

Frank put the small bag back into his pocket and looked at his friends. "Come on lads. Let's go upstairs, take a disco nap till the Alibi opens again." He began to walk towards the stairs but Lip quickly got up from his seat.

"Dad, no, no." He got in the way of Frank so he couldn't go upstairs.

"Lip, don't," Debbie begged.

"This is my home. You have no right to kick me out of it. I am an important part of this family!" Frank claimed. It was like he actually believed what he was saying.

"No you're not. You don't live here anymore," Ian said, standing next to his brother.

"Fine. If that's the way you want it, I'll leave." He turned to look at his friends. "Phil, Chester, I'm sorry. My family doesn't want me here anymore." He ushered his friends out of the kitchen and Tessa was glad for that little fiasco to be over.

But of course things could never be simple with Frank. He quickly turned and yelled, "Charge!" while running up the stairs.

Lip turned and quickly tried to grab his leg but Frank shook him off without much effort. Lip stood and looked at Fiona. "Jackass!" He yelled up the stairs.

"That's it," Fiona snapped. "Let's go! Go!

"Stop it, guys! Stop!" Debbie yelled.

Tessa quickly got off her seat and ran towards the stairs in the living room, taking two at a time. She thought it might be helpful to have someone coming from the other side, even though those guys weight more than twice what she did.

She made it to Lip's room but saw that all of the guys had gone straight into Debbie's room. She quickly closed the door to Lip's room, not that it would do much, before she went into Debbie's room to see all the Gallaghers trying to get Frank and his friends out of there.

One of the guys was peeing and Lip and Ian tried to pull him away but only moved back when he began to pee on them. If the situation hadn't been so stressful, Tessa would have laughed at Lip and Ian.

Everyone started pulling at someone and it wasn't until Tessa heard a crash that everyone froze and looked at Frank with wide eyes. He had fallen onto Debbie's project and broken the whole thing. Tessa's eyes were wide and she waited to see what would happen yet. It would be a miracle if Debbie brushed the whole thing aside, considering how much she had worked on that project.

"What's the matter with you!" Fiona yelled.

"Well, that's a piece of shit anyway," Frank said.

Debbie slowly backed up and Lip tried to grab her. "Debs," he said. But she pushed past him and ran out into the hallway. "Damnit, Frank! Get the fuck out!" He yelled.

Fiona, Lip and Ian all rushed towards Frank and began to pull him off of Debbie's bed.

"You can't do this to her!" Fiona yelled.

Suddenly Debbie ran into the room with a pillowcase in her hand but it was clearly filled with something hard as she jumped onto the bed and began beating Frank with it, putting all of her anger into it. "I treated you well!"

"Jesus!" Frank yelled. "Stop it!" He tried putting his hands up to protect himself but it wasn't doing much good, and neither were his pleas to get Debbie to stop.

Tessa bit the inside of her cheek and one of her hands found its way to Carl's shoulder.

"How could you do this to me!" Debbie yelled. She continued to beat him with the pillow-case. "Get out of my house!" She screamed.

"Somebody help me!" Frank yelled.

"I don't even care!" Debbie screamed. Pound, pound. The sound of the pillowcase filled with the heavy objects seemed to be the only thing Tessa could hear. "GET! OUT!"

"Debs! Debs!" Lip yelled, trying to pull his sister off of Frank.

"I hate you! Get – don't you touch me!" She yelled, trying to wiggle out of Lip and Ian's grip. "After everything I have done for you this is the thanks I get!"

The boys carried Frank out of the room and Debbie fell down onto her bed face-first and began kicking her legs up and down. Carl had left with Lip and Ian and Tessa stood there with Fiona who was covering her mouth in disbelief. She reached down and tried to comfort Debbie by petting her on the back but she quickly began to push away Fiona yelling that she hated her.

Fiona walked away from Debbie and held her face. Tessa walked forward and wrapped an arm around Fiona, trying to give her as much comfort as she could. She wasn't going to tell her that it would be okay, because she had no idea if it would be. She just wanted to be there for Fiona and from the way she seemed to relax; Tessa's gesture had appeared to help.

 **A:N/ REVIEW! I already have the next two chapters written so the more reviews I get the quicker they will go up. This might be my longest chapter to date? I didn't even finish the episode with Fiona's club night. But Tessa wasn't there since she had to work. A believable explanation that allowed me to stop the chapter at a good spot. Tessa is going to find herself being torn between Lip and Fiona more and more. Again – REVIEW!**


	21. TWENTY-ONE

Tessa glanced at herself in the rearview mirror. Her makeup was a little heavier than normal, which wasn't saying much considering she rarely wore makeup. Her hair was down and she had used her flat iron to make it look nice. After deciding she looked decent enough she got out of her car and walked into the club.

People were setting up for that night and she spotted Meg almost immediately. Fiona had said to look for the pregnant blonde in a pantsuit.

"Hi, Meg?" Tessa asked.

The blonde turned to look at whoever had called her name, annoyance on her face. "Yes?" She asked.

"I'm Tessa. I'm a friend of Fiona's and she mentioned you were looking for some waitresses."

Meg turned to fully glance Tessa over. "You got experience? I don't have the time to train someone."

She nodded and handed Meg her resume. "More than I'd like to admit." She had been working in that diner for way too long.

The blonde glanced over the resume and nodded her head in approval. "Look, I don't really have time to screw around. We'll give you a night to see how you are. You're pretty and the guys here like that. Talk to Fiona about hair and makeup and make sure you get yourself a push-up bra."

Tessa raised an eyebrow and tried her hardest not to shoot some sassy comment at Meg. She glanced down at her breasts and then back up at Meg, nodding silently. Her boobs weren't small, but she was only rocking a B cup.

"I'll put you on the schedule for tomorrow night," Meg said. She turned back around and continued to work on whatever she had been working on before Tessa had interrupted her.

She supposed that was the end of the conversation. Tessa turned to leave and walked out of the building. Fiona hadn't been kidding when she had told Tessa that Meg was blunt and had zero patience. But at least she had a shot at making this a permanent thing. Her only issue was getting out of work tomorrow night. Meg had left no room for compromising on when Tessa would work so she hadn't had the guts to tell her she was supposed to work at her other job tomorrow night.

Walking out of the club she pulled her phone out and called Fiona. "Hey!" She said. "So I got on the schedule at the club for tomorrow night."

"That's great!" Fiona said. "But hey sorry I gotta go. V's helping me get this skeevy grocery store manager asking for a hummer on tape. I'll call you later."

Tessa pulled the phone away from her ear to see that Fiona had hung up on her. What the hell had she said? She would definitely have to get the story about that later. Sighing she went to call Lip but his phone just rang and rang and she frowned. He wasn't working or anything and he didn't have school. He almost always answered his phone.

Sticking her phone back into her pocket she walked towards her car and got in. Sighing, Tessa started her car and headed towards the Gallagher household, knowing that at least Debbie would be around.

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Debbie hadn't been around and Tessa had gone home for the rest of the day. Later on, Fiona had filled her in on what had happened at the grocery store, and what had happened with Kev's old wife showing up. Tessa was glad she hadn't been around.

The next day she showed up to say goodbye to Carl before he took off for camp for a week.

Walking through the back door she saw Frank feeding a baby that she was pretty sure belonged to Karen.

"Carl, what are you doing?" She asked. She noticed he had a stapler and sheets in his hand.

"Making a sleeping bag."

"Okay," Tessa said slowly. She walked around the table and sat beside Carl and watched as he made the sleeping bag. She knew she should probably stop him but found that she didn't have the energy.

She heard footsteps coming down the stairs and Ian, Fiona and Jimmy all appeared.

"You all packed up?" Ian asked.

"Yup!" Carl said.

"What's Hymie doing here?" Fiona asked, shooting Frank an odd look.

"I'm baby-sitting."

"Oh, is Sheila popping pills again?" Ian asked.

Frank scoffed. "Sheila happens to think very highly of my ability to raise bright, independent children."

Tessa had to bite her cheek to keep herself from laughing at the ludicrous thought.

"You're not leaving Hymie here, Frank," Fiona said. "Debbie can't take care of a special needs kid on top of day care."

"Challenges foster growth! You can't prevent Debbie from an opportunity to grow," Frank tried.

"Not happening," Fiona deadpanned. She suddenly saw what Carl was doing and her eyes widened. "Carl, what are you doing?" She asked.

"Making a sleeping bag," he said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"These are Lip's sheets!" Fiona said.

"Not anymore," Carl scoffed.

"Alright. Take my ROTC sleeping bag, huh?" Ian offered.

"Really?" Carl asked, excitement evident on his face.

"Yeah. I'll grab it from upstairs." Ian disappeared upstairs again.

Fiona turned to her dad. "Why couldn't you win a raffle for a camp when I was little, Frank?"

"Fortune dispenses randomly."

"I hated camp," Jimmy said.

"Don't listen to Jamie, Carl," Frank said.

"Jimmy," Jimmy corrected.

Fiona sighed and offered Tessa a smile before grabbing the keys off the washer. "You okay holding down the fort with Debbie's daycare insanity starting up again?" Fiona asked Jimmy.

"Jamie's got it. Jamie is all over it," Jimmy joked.

Fiona turned to Carl. "Okay little man. See you in a week."

Carl rushed and hugged his sister. "I just want to say thanks for being a great sister. I may have never said that, but now I did."

Tessa had made her way into the living room and smiled at the kind words Carl had said to Fiona. She was fairly certain that she had never heard Carl say anything nice like that since she had known him.

"You okay Carl?" Fiona asked.

"Yeah," he said, pulling out of her hug and sitting down on the couch.

"Okay," Fiona said, turning back to Jimmy. "I left a list of stuff we need at the store. You kicking in for squirrel fund this month?"

"Absolutely," he said. "Yeah. I'm living here. Got to do my part."

"Don't have to," Fiona pointed out.

"Want. Want to." Jimmy smiled and kissed Fiona.

"Debbie!" Fiona screamed. "Day care is starting!"

Tessa sat down on the couch next to Carl and a moment later Ian came downstairs with his sleeping bag.

"Wow! Thanks Ian," Carl said.

"I got a couple more things for camp too. Bug spray and Swiss army knife. For comfort and convenience, not as weapons," Ian explained, making sure to put emphasis on that last part.

"Awesome," Carl said with a grin.

Ian leaned forward and kissed Carl on the head. "See you in a week, pal."

Carl stood. "Dad we should go!" He yelled out.

Tessa stood and turned to Carl. "Think I could get a hug?"

"I suppose," Carl said with a sigh but she noticed the smile on his face.

She embraced him in a hug and dropped a kiss on the top of his head like Ian had done only a moment ago. "Don't go blowing anything up without me, okay?" She asked, pulling away and looking at him.

Carl grinned and nodded. "Okay," he agreed.

Carl and Frank left and Tessa went upstairs to find Ian.

"Have you seen Lip?" She asked. She had only gotten a text from him the other day.

He shook his head. "No, sorry."

She pulled out her phone and tried calling him again. This time he actually answered.

"Hey," she greeted. "I'm at your house. Where are you?" she asked.

"Hanging with some friends. I was thinking we could hang out at your place tonight. Just the two of us?" He suggested.

Tessa bit her lip and shook her head. "Sorry I can't. I have to work at that club tonight and it's my tryout for the job," she explained. "I mean, you can stay there but –."

"Whatever." Tessa found herself being cut off by Lip and she furrowed her eyebrows.

"Lip!" She yelled. But she heard nothing and realized he had hung up on her.

"What?" Ian asked.

"He hung up on me." She frowned. "Basically he was pissed because I wouldn't be around tonight to hook up with him."

Ian sighed and shook his head. "Sorry about him."

Tessa shrugged, the frown still on her face. "Not your fault. I just don't want him to second-guess this whole thing. Or resent me."

"He won't resent you," Ian said.

"You don't know that," she said.

Ian pursed his lips and she knew that she had made a point.

Tessa rose from her spot on Ian's bed. "I should go."

"You don't have to," he said.

"I know. But I should get some rest before tonight." Shit. She realized she hadn't gotten a chance to talk to Fiona about the club and since she was working at the grocery store today it was clear she wouldn't be working at the club tonight. She supposed she would have to figure it out herself. Then again, that's what Tessa had been doing for her entire life.

"Good luck," Ian said. He gave her a hug before Tessa left the house, hoping that tonight would go well so that she could leave her job at the diner.

 _A:N/ I know this one is shorter but I hit a funk when I wrote this chapter. Just so everyone knows, the storyline with Lip and Blake (the pedophile teacher) did NOT happen in this story. I thought about it but decided against it. Please review!_


	22. TWENTY-TWO

_A:N/ Sorry for the delay. I have a good excuse this time: I've been sick. I wanted to get a chapter to you guys as a holiday treat. Are people still interested in this story? I haven't been getting many reviews and wanted to double check. I know I took a long hiatus but wanted to make sure people were still interested._

Tessa's audition night at the club had gone great. Meg had been impressed with her waitressing skills and Tessa had been able to hold back her anger whenever customers hit on her. Meg hired her full time and Tessa was thankful for the job. Originally she planned on quitting the diner completely, but now she wasn't so sure. She would feel awful if she left Sam by herself. Then again, it wasn't like she would be making a lot of money working day shifts either. It was definitely something she would have to think about.

Lip hadn't been at her apartment when she got home that night and she wasn't sure why she had expected him to be. Maybe it was because he had been spending nights there so frequently. Tessa wondered if he still had his panties in a twist because she had been unable to hang out with him that night.

Hoping to patch things up, Tessa went to the Gallagher's house to see if she could find Lip. He hadn't been returning her texts and she knew she would have to corner him to hash this one out. Walking up the back steps she walked in on Veronica beating the shit out of a large piece of meat and Fiona staring at her best friend with wide eyes.

"Whoa," Tessa muttered with wide eyes. She wondered if she should come back later. "Lip around?" She asked quickly.

Fiona shook her head. "You just missed him. He's storing fireworks."

"What about a surrogate?" Fiona asked, turning back to Veronica.

"You offering?" she asked.

"Hell no. Bet you could find someone good on Craigslist," Fiona said.

It didn't take much for Tessa to figure out this conversation had to do with Veronica getting pregnant, or rather, not getting pregnant. She didn't really know what to say but knew that it sucked. Tessa had no desire to have kids but she could only imagine not even having that option.

"Bitch gets paid, IVF doc gets paid, medical bills, maternity clothes, lawyer fees, contract fees. Low end? Forty grand. Need a truckload of slave-play to raise that kind of scratch."

"What'll you do?" Fiona asked.

"Something," Veronica said.

Tessa felt awkward just standing there and began to help with whatever she could. Fiona had food from work all over the counter and she began to help sort through everything.

"How did it go at the club?" Veronica asked.

Tessa was still thrown off whenever V talked directly to her. "Uh. Good actually. It went really well so Meg offered me the job."

"That's great!" Fiona exclaimed. "I can't wait to work with you again. I feel like it's been years since that job we did together."

"I know," Tessa said with a smile.

"Jimmy found out his dad is gay. He won't stop talking about it," Fiona said, changing the subject. "I feel bad for him but at the same time it's driving me insane! What am I supposed to do? I can't just tell him to shut up but I don't know how much longer I can listen to this."

"Why don't you suggest he take a weekend trip with his dad or something? That way he gets out of your hair and he also thinks you're being supportive of his crisis with his dad," Tessa suggested.

Fiona nodded her head slowly. "That's actually a really good idea." Fiona shot Tessa a grin. "Since when are you brilliant?"

Tessa smirked and stood up from her seat. "I'm gonna head home and get some shit done I guess. Let Lip know I stopped by?" She asked.

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It was nearly nine at night and Tessa still hadn't heard from Lip. She thought about texting Ian to see if he knew anything but she didn't want to seem needy.

Sighing she walked out of her bedroom to grab her phone in the living room but walked in on Lip closing her door.

"What are you doing here?" Tessa asked, folding her arms over her chest. She was too exhausted to argue with Lip.

She noted that he was covered in dirt and wondered what he had gotten into now.

"I can't come see my girlfriend?" He asked.

Tessa pursed her lips and thought about what she was going to say next. She didn't want him to storm out but she knew she had to talk to him about the other night. "Why did you hang up on me last night?"

He ran his hand through his hair. "I was just in a shitty mood, alright? Can we not do this now? I'm exhausted and I've been digging for hours and I just wanted some quiet."

"Showers all yours," she said with a shrug.

He nodded and walked past her, kissing her cheek as he did so. Tessa grabbed her phone and walked back into her bedroom and crawled into bed. She saw she had missed a text from Fiona asking if she could come over and help with something and she wondered if it had to do with the digging Lip had mentioned. She texted Fiona back quickly telling her that she was sorry and that she hadn't seen the text until now.

Tossing her phone onto her nightstand she stared at the ceiling fan as it rotated constantly, providing her with some sort of relief to the nighttime heat. She quickly lifted her hips and tugged her shorts off, tossing them on the ground. She liked having a sheet over her but it was far too warm for her to be fully clothed.

At the thought of clothes she ripped the sheet off of her body and walked to the corner of her room where she had some of Lip's clothes that he had left behind in the weeks that they had been together. She had cleaned them but hadn't gotten around to giving them back yet. She figured if Lip had been working hard all day he would not want to get back into the same clothes he had come over in. Then again, he was a guy and she wondered if that thought would even cross his mind. Rephrasing her thoughts, she knew she didn't want his dirty clothes in her clean bed.

Lip was still in the shower and she opened the bathroom door. "Clean clothes," she said, setting them on the bathroom counter. She reached down and gathered his dirty ones and her nose scrunched up at just how much dirt they were covered in.

He poked his head out of the shower curtain. "And here I was thinking you were going to join me."

Rolling her eyes, Tessa snorted at the idea. "You already know my stance on sharing showers," she said, thinking back to the time Lip had asked her if she wanted any company in the shower.

Leaving the bathroom she walked back into her bedroom, tossing Lip's dirty clothes in her laundry basket. She desperately needed to do laundry. Tessa groaned at the idea but crawled into bed and pulled the sheet over her head, not wanting to think about how many things she had to do and how little she wanted to do them.

Her drama with Lip seemed insignificant to what everyone else was going through. Veronica couldn't get pregnant. Jimmy had just found out his dad was gay and had been sleeping with Ian. Fiona was dealing with Jimmy and something that had to do with digging. Tessa made a mental note to figure out what that was about. She hadn't talked to Ian in forever so she had no idea what kind of shit he was going through, but she did know that Mickey was out so she bet she was dealing with him.

"What are you doing?" Lip's voice asked.

Sighing she pulled the sheet from over her head. "Avoiding responsibilities," she deadpanned.

Lip chuckled and crawled into bed, tossing the clean shirt and shorts she had brought to him on the floor. "Sounds good to me," he said.

He laid on his side so they were looking at one another. "So what was up with the digging?" She decided to start with an easy question.

Lip sighed and ran a hand over his face. Maybe it wasn't as easy as she had assumed?

"A while ago Frank buried our Aunt Ginger in our yard and the city is coming to work on the water pipes. We're trying to find the body before they do so no one does jail time."

Her eyebrows shot up and she instantly felt awful for not seeing Fiona's text earlier. "Shit. Did you find her?"

Lip shook his head. "No. And of course Frank isn't doing shit to help."

"That sucks," Tessa mumbled, unsure of what else she could possibly say.

He hummed in response. "I don't want to think about that anymore," he said. Lip leaned forward and kissed Tessa, his hand snaking to her waist and settling on her hipbone. His fingers played with the edge of her underwear but before he could go any further Tessa pushed his chest back.

"Lip," she began.

"What?" He asked, confused by her actions.

"I know you don't do relationships and I'm not trying to make you regret this, but you being all pissy at me the other night because I had to work and then not responding to my texts and calls for the rest of the night and all of today is not okay. You can't just do that when something doesn't go your way!" She exclaimed.

He groaned and rolled over onto his back, running a hand through his hair. "I told you earlier. I was in a shitty mood, okay? I wanted to spend time with you and you had to work so it clearly didn't help," he snapped.

Tessa scoffed and shook her head. She was not turning into the bad guy on this one. "So what's your excuse for not texting me or calling me back?"

He paused before finally answering her. "I was driving. Ian and I went with Mandy to pick up her sister. Her mom died and she had no other family to get her so we had to drive her there to get her."

She bit the inside of her cheek. Ian hadn't mentioned any road trip but she didn't want to accuse Lip of lying and start another fight. "Okay," she said, turning and laying on her back. She reached over and turned the light off, knowing that more conversation would lead to another fight. How had they gotten to this place? Then again, Tessa and Lip's relationship had always been rocky, even before they had started to date.

Lip sat up on his elbows and hovered over Tessa. "I missed you," he said.

Tessa had to fight back the urge to scoff and doubt his comment. If he had missed her so much then why had it taken him so long to return her texts or calls? Surely he could have taken one minute to do one of those things. Sighing she nodded. "I missed you too."

He leaned down and kissed her. This time, Tessa didn't push him away.

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The following night Tessa walked out of work at the club and pulled her phone out. They had been so busy that she hadn't had a spare moment to check her phone. She had several missed calls from Fiona, Ian and Lip. She even had some texts from all three Gallaghers. Her jaw dropped when she read the texts; Child Protective Services had taken the kids.

She glanced at the time and sighed. It was nearly two in the morning. There was nothing she could do at the moment, but made sure she would be at Fiona's first thing in the morning. She quickly returned texts to all three of them and filled them in on what she had been doing and that she would be at Fiona's in the morning.

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Tessa ran in through the front door the next morning but didn't see anyone in the living room. She heard some noises in the kitchen and rushed there but only found Jimmy and Fiona.

"What happened?" Tessa asked.

Fiona frowned. "You just missed them. DFS took them twenty minutes ago." She could see that Fiona was having a hard time keeping it together. She couldn't imagine what she must be going through.

"I'm gonna see if I can get one of the evil cock gobblers to cover my shift so I can get over to the DFS and start tracking down the kids," Fiona said to no one in particular.

"Want a ride?" Tessa asked.

Fiona smiled and nodded. "Yeah." Fiona rubbed Jimmy on the back and the two girls rushed out the front door and into Tessa's car.

"I'm so sorry I wasn't around yesterday," Tessa apologized.

"It's not your fault," Fiona said. "I was digging all day. Bright side, I found Ginger's body. Then I come in and there's a DFS chick standing in our living room. Didn't help that Debbie was going off about almost drowning some slut at the public pool."

Tessa's eyebrows shot up and she grew speechless. A normal reaction would have been for her to laugh, but given the serious situation she found herself being silent.

When they arrived at the grocery store Fiona asked Tessa to wait in the car so she could go inside and talk to Bobby. She reluctantly agreed and waited impatiently in the car.

Five minutes later Fiona came storming outside.

"Oh shit," Tessa mumbled.

Slamming the car door shut she huffed. "I can't fucking believe him. He wouldn't let me skip and when I threatened him with that tape, he said he would call DFS and tell them I was stealing from the register and showing up to work high. No doubt he was right when he said the girls would back him up," she ranted.

"You still have the club, right? So you're not completely unemployed." She knew Fiona's job at the grocery store had been an awesome break for her, but she tried pointing out the positive instead of just telling her that everything sucked.

Fiona didn't say anything and Tessa took off towards the Department of Family Services so that they could work on getting the kids home. Her phone buzzed and she glanced down to see that it was a text from Lip.

"What did Lip say?" Tessa asked, handing her phone to Fiona to read it since she was driving.

"Him and Ian are at the Gunderson House," Fiona said. She sounded confused and shook her head. "That's not where they should be going."

"At least we know where they are, right?" Tessa asked.

Sighing, Fiona nodded and handed Tessa her phone back.

When the girls got to the Department of Family Services they went inside and Tessa sat down in the lobby while Fiona went to talk to someone. They were told they would have to wait and Tessa felt like it was taking years for someone to come fetch them.

"Gallagher."

The sound of Fiona's last name pulled her from her thoughts and the two looked at the woman.

"Do you want me to come with you or stay here?" Tessa asked, hoping Fiona would allow her to come with her. She wasn't sure how sane she could stay if she was forced to wait around.

"You can come," Fiona said.

The two stood from their seats and followed the woman. "I was hoping to see Marilyn. She's been our caseworker the last couple of years," Fiona said.

"Well, the turnover rate in our field is quite high. It's really a wonder Marilyn lasted as long as she did," the woman said. She brought them to her desk and Fiona and Tessa sat in the two seats on the other side. "So how can I help you?" She asked.

"You can give me the addresses where the kids were placed," Fiona said.

"I already told you, I can't give out any information about the case until the intakes are complete," the woman said, shaking her head in protest.

"Come on," Fiona begged. "Marilyn always used to give me the info, just so I an know they're okay, and can get them stuff, like books or clothes, or whatever."

She huffed and reached across her desk to grab a notepad and a pen. "Well that is a clear violation of policy on Marilyn's part," she said.

"Hey!" Fiona reached forward to stop the girl from writing anything. "I know you think you're helping, but as someone who has been in and out of the system their whole life, I can tell you it's a nightmare. These kids have a big sister who loves them, and I just want to make sure they're okay. So give me something, Britney."

Tessa bit the inside of her cheek and her leg bounced quickly. She felt so helpless just sitting there. But she didn't want to say or do anything that might jeopardize Fiona's chances of getting any information she needed.

"I mean, break a goddamn rule," Fiona said.

"I can tell you that I placed two together in one foster home, and the girl in another. And the two older boys are in a group home," she said.

"Gunderson House," Tessa said, remembering Lip's text from earlier.

Britney shot her a strange look as if she was just noticing her for the first time, but also wondering how she already knew that.

"They're in a Level 14 on Richmond," Britney added.

Sighing, Fiona gathered her bag and nodded. "Thanks."

Tessa followed suit and rose from her chair, getting ready to follow Fiona out of the building. Before she could do that Fiona turned back around to look at Britney.

"Hey, if I can find one family willing to take in all the kids, could they be placed together?" Fiona asked.

Slowly, Britney nodded. "In theory, yes."

Fiona turned to leave and Tessa followed her. She had no idea which family she could be thinking about but then again, she only knew about V and Kev as far as Fiona's friends went. Maybe Jimmy had someone in mind?

"So who's the family you're thinking of?" Tessa finally asked once they got back into her car.

"Kev and V. Let's head back there," Fiona said.

Tessa nodded and rushed back towards the house so they could talk to Veronica about taking in the kids. It occurred to Tessa that V and Kev had taken in a foster kid before. She hardly remembered Ethel but at least the two had experience with foster kids. Maybe that would look good when Fiona suggested them being the ones to take the kids.

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The two walked inside of Veronica's house and Fiona looked around but didn't see anyone. "V?!" She yelled.

"Upstairs!" They heard.

The two went upstairs and into Veronica's bedroom. They found the woman spreading a plastic sheet across her bed. Fiona and Tessa exchanged odd looks before Veronica spoke up to explain.

"Making a video for one of those do-it-yourself websites online. Pays one hundred fifty bucks. This one's on a high colonic. Next week I bleach my exit ramp," she explained.

Tessa scrunched up her nose in disgust. She had to hand it to V for doing the things she did, but Tessa knew she could never do something like that on video.

"DFS took the kids this morning," Fiona said.

"Oh, shit."

"You think you and Kevin could talk to your foster caseworker about taking them in?" Fiona asked.

"Five Gallaghers in my house?" Veronica asked with raised eyebrows.

"Just for a couple days. A week, maximum."

"Lip and Ian got placed in a Level 14 group home," Tessa said, finally speaking up.

"Level 14?" V asked.

"For kids that light their parents on fire, or stab them in the face while they're napping on the couch," Fiona explained.

"Well, you're over twenty-one now. Can't they just release them to you?" Veronica asked.

Tessa had to admit; she made a good point.

"I'd have to file for guardianship," Fiona explained.

"Five Gallaghers." V huffed. "I'm gonna be the lone black dot on a map of Ireland."

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Once Fiona found out from V that she wouldn't be able to take the kids, she had told Tessa. Tessa had been bummed since she had no idea what other options there were. Fiona had mentioned finding Monica but she wasn't sure how well that would go.

Whenever Tessa thought about Monica she thought about seeing her on the kitchen floor with her wrists sliced open.

The bus passed her and Tessa looked up and began walking towards it, hoping that Lip was on this one. She had already seen three busses stop and leave without Lip getting off.

She smiled when she saw him get off the bus with a paper in his hand. He looked exhausted and she walked over to him.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

"I can't come see my boyfriend?" She asked, her tone mocking since he had said a similar thing the other night.

He rolled his eyes and chuckled.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a kiss. "How have you been?" She asked, cocking her head to the side.

Lip shrugged. "Fine. It's like a prison in there. Any word on Fiona getting us out?"

Shaking her head, she bit her lip. "No. I think Fiona's looking for Monica to pass for the fit parent to get you guys back, but I haven't heard anything other than that. Still no cell phone?" She asked.

"Nope," he said with a scoff.

"Do you need anything? Clothes, food, money?" She asked. She really didn't have money to spare, especially since Lip still owed her that bail money, but she would be rude not to at least offer.

He shook his head. "Not right now but I'll let you know. The food in there is shit though," he said.

Tessa laughed. "Then why don't you let me bring you something? I can meet you here tomorrow for when you get off the bus with some burgers," she suggested.

Grinning he leaned forward and kissed her. "I knew there was a reason I liked you," he said.

Playfully shoving him, Tessa backed up a few steps. "Don't be an ass. Or you won't get jack shit tomorrow."

"Come on," he said, reaching out for her. "You know I was kidding."

Flipping him off she continued to walk backwards, a grin still on her face.

Lip quickly reached forward and grabbed Tessa. She squealed in surprise but laughed when he began to tickle her side.

"Stop!" She begged through her laughter.

When he stopped he tucked a piece of hand behind her ear. "Too bad you can't sneak out and just come stay with me," she said.

He sighed. "I've gotta play it straight here," he said. Glancing over at the building that wasn't too far away another sigh escaped his lips. "I actually have to go. I have to hand in my papers. I've gotta get it signed by my community service supervisor and by the bus driver. How ridiculous is that?"

She could understand the community service signature but the bus thing was a little extreme. "If anyone can fix this, it's Fiona. Okay?" She asked.

She wrapped her arms around his neck again and pulled him in for a long kiss. She had no idea when she would see him next and she already missed him. Maybe this was just the thing she needed for her to realize how much she cared about Lip. Apparently it was what he needed too since he seemed to be in a good mood when he saw her. He wasn't being distant at all.

"I'll see you tomorrow," he said. He gave her another quick kiss before walking away to head back towards the group home he referred to as hell.

 _A:N/ Long one! I owed you guys since the last one was so short and there was a long gap between the two chapters from me being sick. Once again – let me know if you guys are still into this? Like I said, I haven't been getting many reviews. What's something you guys would love to see happen between Tessa and Lip? Anything?_


	23. TWENTY-THREE

_A:N/ I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving! I'm also glad to see that people are still interested in this story. I'm sorry for the delay (I did mean to update sooner) but things got crazy with the holiday. I do expect things to be a bit slow with Christmas coming up but don't worry – I'm not doing a two-month hiatus or anything. Also some of you mentioned wanting some drama between Tessa and Lip. I do have something planned so just be patient my little doves._

Tessa answered her phone after seeing Fiona's name flash across the screen. "What's up, Fi?"

"Do you think you could stop by the hardware store and get some deadbolts? I tried asking Jimmy but he said the place was closed. Didn't know Manny lives upstairs. There's one near your place, isn't there?" She asked.

She hummed in response. "Sure. I can grab some before I head over. Text me after you've left that law office, yeah?" she asked.

"Sure thing. Wish me luck."

Fiona hung up before Tessa could respond but she didn't mind. Fiona had told her about going to talk to a lawyer in order to get custody of all the kids. The lawyer was a friend of Jimmy's brother or something like that. But Tessa was proud of Fiona for trying to get custody. There were a lot of kids and having legal responsibility was a big deal. She knew that Fiona had raised the kids herself, but it still seemed like a big step.

Her front door opened and Lip and Ian walked inside.

"So nice of you to knock," she said while rolling her eyes.

"Lip said he called you," Ian said with a confused expression on his face.

Tessa shot Lip a look, who in return merely shrugged. He walked over to Tessa and gave her a kiss. "I meant to," he tried.

Tessa looked back to Ian and her eyebrows shot up when she saw that his face had some scrapes and bruises on it. "Jesus Christ, Ian! What happened?" She asked. She walked closer to him and began to look at his face.

"Oh it's nothing," he said. "Got in a fight with some guys at the prison we've been confined to."

She narrowed her eyes at the red head, not really believing his words. But she figured he was lying for a reason and made a note to ask him about it later when it was just the two of them.

"Speaking of prison. What are you guys doing here? I thought you were supposed to be on lockdown unless you were at work," Tessa asked.

"Need to get some stuff from home. Carl asked for some of his things too so I told him I'd grab them and drop them off for him," Ian said.

"And you're here because…?" Tessa let her sentence trail off, still not knowing what exactly they were doing at her apartment.

"To brighten up your day with our faces," Lip said with a grin. He wrapped an arm around Tessa's waist and pressed a kiss to her temple.

Ian chuckled and shook his head. "We were hoping to catch a ride home? Normally we would take the L but –"

"But you have a car," Lip finished after cutting Ian off mid-sentence.

She rolled her eyes. "Fine but I have to get deadbolts for Fiona before we head over there. I don't think Jimmy grabbed them like she asked and she probably wants to get them up as soon as possible in order to keep Frank out," she guessed.

Lip nodded. "Makes sense," he said.

"Let me grab my bag and we can go," Tessa said. She pulled herself from Lip's grasp and walked into her bedroom to grab her bag and make sure her wallet was inside. She turned to leave but bumped into Lip's chest.

"Uhm. Can I help you?" Tessa asked, raising an eyebrow.

Instead of replying to her question, Lip responded by grabbing her face and crashing his lips onto her own. He backed her up until her back collided with her dresser and she found herself caving into his touch. Her hands went to his waist and her fingers intertwined themselves into the empty belt loops on his pants.

His tongue slid across her bottom lip and she opened her mouth as a natural response but she quickly found her senses returning to her. She pulled her face back slightly and shook her head. "Lip, your brother is in the other room," she pointed out.

He shrugged. "So?" Unphased by the comment, he leaned forward to capture her lips again.

Dodging his advance, Tessa kept her lips out of his reach. "So, that means I'm not going to let you get into my pants while Ian is in the other room."

He rolled his eyes. "Such a spoil sport," he said but Tessa could see a small smile creep onto his face.

Laughing she pushed him away. "Mhm blame him." She walked around him and grabbed her bag that had fallen to the ground earlier.

"I always do," he said.

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After grabbing the locks, the three of them made their way to the Gallagher house. Tessa lounged on Ian's bed while the two boys rummaged through their things, finding whatever it was they were looking for.

The sound of the door opening downstairs pulled Tessa from her thoughts and she followed Lip downstairs.

"Hey," Fiona said with a grin.

"Hey! I thought I heard the door," Lip said.

"They let you out of the group home?" she asked.

Tessa wished that were the case. Maybe then Lip wouldn't be so horny trying to jump her bones while his brother was sitting in the other room.

"Oh, yeah. They cut us loose from dawn till dusk," Lip said, sitting down on one of the stools at the counter. Tessa took one of the stools next to him and slid the locks across the counter to Fiona.

"Here are those locks," Tessa said.

"Thanks," Fiona said with a smile on her face. "You're a lifesaver."

"I found them," Ian said. He walked from the living room into the kitchen. Fiona tossed him a confusing look and he pointed to what was in his hand. "I'm going to visit Carl and Liam. He asked for M-80s, Nintendo DS, and ninja throwing stars," he explained.

"Could use your help," Fiona said.

"How?" Ian asked.

Fiona looked up and sighed. She reached up and pulled one of Carl's ninja throwing stars out of the wall. "I'm getting custody."

"Of us?" Ian asked.

"No dumbass, of Jimmy," Tessa mumbled to herself but it was loud enough for Ian to hear.

He shot her a glare and Lip tried not to laugh.

"It's the only way to bring everyone home and keep it that way," Fiona explained.

A look of admiration passed Lip and Ian's features and Tessa smiled to herself. She wished she had a sister like Fiona growing up. It had been just Tessa and even though her mom had been around, she had been the one to raise herself.

"Few things I gotta do first. Make a will and get a W-2 stating that I have a full time job," Fiona explained.

Lip nodded. "I think I can help with the W-2. Let's head down to the Alibi to talk to Kev."

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Tessa sat next to Fiona and Jimmy at the bar. Fiona pulled from her cigarette, Tessa did a shot and Jimmy sat next to Fiona, being annoying as usual.

"What's taking so long?" Fiona asked.

"You don't have to do this. Custody. It's a big responsibility," he said. He was trying to keep his conversation between himself and Fiona but she could clearly hear him whining.

"Lip'll help. And Ian," she said, her tone obvious.

Jimmy took a beat as if he hadn't considered Fiona using those two as reasons why she could do it. "It's permanent."

"Exactly. Frank permanently out of our lives," Fiona pointed out.

Tessa turned to see Lip carrying a big box from out back with Ian following him. "Doing Kev's taxes every year since I was ten is finally gonna pay off." He set the box down onto the bar. "You just gotta scan the W-2 and change the name," Ian explained.

"Yeah it's so easy, it's like they're daring you to commit fraud," Lip said as he pulled his pack of cigarettes out from his shirt pocket.

"I don't want to get Kev in trouble," Fiona said.

"Yo, Kev," Lip called out.

Kev looked up from what he had been doing. "Hey, need a refill?"

"No. Is it cool if we put Fiona's name on your W-2?" He asked.

"Sure," he replied. It was as if Lip had asked him to borrow a cup of flour. "What's a W-2?" He asked after a beat.

"Hmm?" Lip turned to Fiona with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. "Look, even if he gets pinched, right? The feds'll figure out pretty quickly he can't do his own taxes, let alone fake someone else's," Lip explained. "Anything else?" He asked.

"Yeah. I need you to get a will notarized," Fiona said.

"A will?" Ian asked.

"Aunt Ginger's. Good news. She died. We're getting the house," she deadpanned.

"Will's no good without a death certificate," Lip pointed out, taking a sip of his beer. Or rather, the beer Tessa had ordered but had hardly sipped from.

"Yeah. We're gonna need a body, too," Fiona said.

Tessa chuckled and shook her head. It was amusing at how nonchalant this whole conversation was.

"Uh, where are you gonna get a dead body?" Ian asked.

"Ah. Sorry to bail. It's my mom," Jimmy said. He started to walk away but Fiona turned to try to catch him.

"Everything okay?" She asked.

"Uh, yeah. It's just divorce plus copious amounts of chardonnay equals expensive accidents. I'll call you later, okay?" He said before rushing out the door.

Tessa had to fight the urge to roll her eyes. It wasn't like he was being helpful anyways. At least Tessa had a car to cart everyone around in.

"Alright. We'll go get this will notarized and you try to find a body," Lip said. He grabbed a W-2 and handed it to Ian to pocket. "Then we'll swing by and see Carl and Liam."

Fiona nodded and thanked them before rushing out of the bar to do her part.

"You coming?" Lip asked, his cigarette hanging out of his mouth.

Tessa glanced at the time on her phone and shook her head. "I have to work at the club tonight. I'll drop you guys off wherever but I can't tag along."

Lip nodded but she could tell he was a little annoyed. She didn't know what he wanted from her. She had to work. She couldn't con everyone out of money like he did. "It's okay. The notary public isn't too far from here. Just head home and get ready for work," Lip said.

Ian waved goodbye and Lip kissed her cheek before the two of them disappeared. Tessa sighed and ran a hand through her dark locks. She picked up the rest of her beer that Lip had started to drink and she downed it. She knew that she was going to have to figure out how to deal with Lip and his moodiness whenever she had to work, but for now she just had to get to work.

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Tessa had received a text from Fiona saying that Veronica had gotten her a body but they had to pick it up at the morgue later that night. The pick-up time was a little after she got out of work so she agreed to meet them there to get the body.

She pulled her jacket around her body as tightly as she could but she was still freezing. Her legs were cold as well but she had no change of clothes in her car. She was still in her black skirt and high heels from working at the club. Her feet were killing her but she would never walk barefoot in Chicago.

She arrived outside the morgue and saw Veronica standing there by herself. "Hey – didn't know you were coming," she said.

Tessa nodded. "Fiona texted me," she said. She felt her teeth begin to chatter.

The sound of talking and footsteps caught the attention of the girls and they looked to see Fiona, Ian, Lip and Jimmy walking down the alley.

Veronica knocked twice on the door. "Lanny," she whispered.

It opened and he looked around. "I told you. Two taps, then three."

"Forgot the code," Veronica said. "Let us in?"

"Which one of you is looking for an old white woman?" he asked.

Fiona slowly raised her hand and Ian pointed a finger to his sister.

Lip walked next to Tessa and he furrowed his eyebrows. "Thought you were working," he said.

She kept her arms close to her body. "I got off fifteen minutes ago. Fiona texted me about the body and told me to meet her here if I wanted to."

Tessa was cold and not in the mood to deal with Lip's less than warm demeanor.

Lanny let them all inside and he walked over to where the bodies were stored. He pulled the tray out and Tessa scrunched up her nose at the body lying there. At least it was covered up in the body bag.

"Just booked a first class ticket to eternal damnation," V mumbled.

"Out of rigor mortis, starting to decompose. And, lucky for you, set to be cremated," Lanny said.

"Won't her family ask questions?" Jimmy asked.

"Got a Jane Doe in the back, never been IDed. Best thing about ashes – they all look the same."

This guy was way too happy-go-lucky about this whole thing.

"What do you want for her?" Fiona asked.

"Could use a pick-me-up. Night shift's killing me," he said.

"What's your poison?" Lip asked.

"I'm not picky."

Someone's phone beeped and Tessa turned to see Jimmy pulling his out of his pocket. "Can you guys handle it from here? Mom, she got a little ambitious on the Ambien. I'll meet you back at the house," he said quickly before taking off.

"You'll want to work fast. She won't stay cold long," Lanny said. He walked out and left them alone with the body.

"This is so sketchy," Tessa muttered to herself.

"How are we going to get it home?" Ian asked.

Tessa stared at the body, her mind blank. She couldn't believe this was happening. Slowly, she began to feel like people were staring at her. She looked up and saw that everyone was indeed, staring at her. "Oh no," she said, shaking her head quickly. "You are not putting a dead body in my car."

"Come on Tessa," Fiona begged. "It's not like we can take her on the L."

She didn't care that Fiona had a point. She didn't want a dead body in her car. She didn't want her car to smell like dead body. She didn't want to think about the dead body every time she had to put something in her trunk.

"Tessa," Lip began. "We need this so we can all come home."

He hit her weak spot and he knew it. She closed her eyes and clenched her jaws. "God Damnit," she mumbled. "Fine," she said through clenched teeth.

Fiona smiled in thanks and Lip rested a hand on her shoulder. Now they just had to get the body home.

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She had wanted to cry when she saw them putting the body in her car. What if the cops pulled her over and wanted to look in her trunk? She would go to jail. She found herself freaking out and imagining every worse case scenario that could possibly happen.

"Stop over-thinking," Lip said, looking over at her from the driver's seat.

Tessa had been a little too shaky to drive for his liking so Lip had taken her keys to drive home. She hadn't even fought him on it, that's how messed up she was feeling.

Ian, Fiona and Veronica sat in the back and Tessa found herself blasting her heat onto her bare legs. God, she couldn't wait to get out of her heels and skirt.

"Oh I'm sorry. I just have a dead body in the trunk of my car," she snapped.

"Yeah and we're committing fraud, theft and several other crimes," Lip snapped back.

She wanted to snap at him about how the evidence wasn't in the back of his car, but knew that fighting with Lip would only make things worse. She could already tell that Fiona, Ian and V were trying not to say or do anything to set either of them off.

When they got to the Gallagher house, Lip parked the car and everyone got out. They all went to the trunk and pulled the body out, everyone helping to bring her inside.

They placed the body on the ground and Ian unzipped the bag. The stench of death instantly smacked Tessa in the face and she turned and covered her nose with her hand. She felt like she was going to throw up.

"Okay. Get the legs," Ian said. Tessa saw that he was tying something around his face to mask the smell. Tessa doubted that even the cloth could mask the smell.

She saw that everyone else was trying not to gag and Fiona was handing out rags for them to cover their faces with. Lip handed one to Tessa, which she quickly tied on her face. She really didn't want to be here. She should have just gone home and crawled into bed.

"Jeeze, it fucking reeks!" Lip yelled.

"Need the biohazard mask they use when Ebola breaks out," V said.

"This is the best we've got. Cover your nose," Fiona explained.

Fiona bent down to begin helping Ian. "Lip, get her fucking legs man," he said.

"Are we really gonna do this?" Lip asked.

"We're not taking any chances," Fiona said.

They all reached down to grab her so they could lift her onto the bed. Everyone groaned and yelled at one another to lift.

Once they got her onto the bed Tessa backed up as far as she could, holding her hand over the cloth where her nose was.

"Oh, boy," Fiona said.

Lip covered her up with blankets and stood at her feet. "Okay," he said. He held up a pair of scissors. "Who wants to do the honors?"

"Oh my god," Tessa said. She felt like she was going to hurl.

"The real Aunt Ginger lost a toe. Somebody's got to snip it," Lip explained. "V, you're a nurse." He held out the scissors to V.

She shook her head. "Not a chance."

"Alright," he said.

"Oh, fuck," Ian said, walking forward and grabbing the tool from his brother. He lined the scissors up with a toe and Tessa had to turn around. She couldn't watch.

"Won't it bleed?" Fiona asked.

"Heart's stopped pumping," V answered.

There was a silence that filled the room and Tessa wondered if Ian was stalling or just trying to line things up correctly. The mere thought made her want to puke. "I need to leave," Tessa said, walking out of the room and down the hall.

She ripped the mask from her face and entered the boys' room. She collapsed onto Ian's bed and started to breathe heavily. She stared at the ceiling and tried her best to calm herself down.

Tessa heard noises downstairs and rose from Ian's bed. She began to walk downstairs and the others weren't too far behind her.

"Debbie? What's going on?" Fiona asked as she turned on the kitchen light.

Lip quickly walked towards his little sister. "Are you okay?"

"I can't talk," she said through a mouthful of food. "Hungry."

"Are they not feeding you?" Fiona asked.

"Do we have any more milk?" Debbie asked, ignoring her sister's question.

"You're not going back."

"I've got to bring food to the others," she whined.

"Grab bread and cereal. We're gonna need grocery bags," V said, quickly walking across the kitchen to begin grabbing things.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Lip said, agreeing with V.

"You're coming home, Debs. I promise," Fiona said before disappearing upstairs.

Tessa made herself busy by helping the others gather food and put it into bags for Debbie to bring back to her foster house. She couldn't imagine the hell she must be going through to be this starving.

"Come on Debs, I'll drive you back. It's freezing out. You shouldn't be walking." Truth be told, Tessa was still recovering from standing outside.

They loaded the food into Tessa's car and they took off towards the house where Debbie was staying. Tessa drove while Lip sat in the back with his sister. Ian had stayed behind to help Fiona with the body.

Tessa stayed quiet while Lip and Debbie made small talk in the back. They caught up and she could hear how much the siblings had missed one another. She wished this whole nightmare was over. She hoped that Fiona figured her shit out soon so that everyone could come home.

After dropping Debbie off, Lip hopped into the front seat and Tessa took off for his house. It was silent for a few minutes. Tessa wasn't quite sure what to say and she had no idea what Lip was thinking, let alone what his mood was.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Well, she certainly hadn't been expecting that. "I'm fine," she said.

"Look, I know the dead body thing was a lot but you know we really appreciate you helping out," he said.

' _It wasn't like you gave me a choice_ ,' she thought to herself. She had been pressured into letting them use her car as transportation for the body.

"I'm going home tonight," she said, ignoring his comment. "I can't stay in that house right now. I'll only think about the body. I'll need a day to clear my head." She was preparing herself for Lip to get snappy but instead he merely nodded his head.

"You're forgetting I have to go back to that hellhole anyway," he noted.

Tessa pursed her lips and nodded her head. "Do you want me to drop you off there?" she asked.

He nodded his head and she headed in the direction of the boys home where he was staying. The rest of the car ride was silent and she pulled up in front of the building.

"Are you coming tomorrow?" He asked, turning to her.

Tessa nodded. "Of course," she said. She wondered if he had been expecting her to say that she wasn't going. She wanted to be there for the whole family in court. She knew that they needed the extra support, especially Fiona.

"I'll see you tomorrow then," he said, nodding his head. He reached over and kissed her on the cheek before getting out of the car and heading into the building. She watched him go but he didn't look back at her. Sighing, she flopped her head back against the headrest. She was exhausted. Work had been crazy then she had gone straight into the chaos the Gallaghers had going on. She was nervous about court tomorrow. Well, it was technically today considering how early in the morning it was. Tessa put her car in drive and went home, hoping to catch some sleep before the future of the Gallagher children were decided.

 _A:N/ What did you guys think? I was going to do the court scene in this chapter (since it's in this episode) but the chapter was already running a little long for my taste and I was getting sleepy. Also – Tessa is normally such a bad ass but she does not do dead bodies. I could not have her be nonchalant about that. So the next chapter will definitely open with the court hearing. Then Tessa/Lip drama is about to go down! Let's not forget that Karen came back in this episode. Please let me know what you guys thought!_


	24. TWENTY-FOUR

_A:N/ IMPORTANT. Not really sure what's going on, but I was disappointed that my last chapter only got two reviews. The only reason I'm posting this chapter now is to see what's going on with you guys. I had planned on including the next episode in this chapter, but decided against it due to the lack of reviews. Please know that when I see lots of reviews, especially encouraging ones, it really puts me in the mood to write! I'm hoping you guys remember how much reviews mean, especially now that you can review as a guest without having to login._

Tessa watched Fiona pace back and forth in the hallway. "They'll be here soon," Tessa assured her friend.

Jimmy was leaning against the wall and Fiona's lawyer was sitting on the bench, looking through his phone. Tessa didn't care for the lawyer but he was taking the case pro-bono and he was a really good lawyer, at least that's what Fiona had told her.

"They don't give you extra credit for showing up early."

A voice made Fiona, Tessa and Jimmy turn. They saw Frank walking down the hall and Tessa was surprised to see him in a suit. In fact, he even looked sober.

"Where's your lawyer?" Fiona asked.

"In labor, crapping out a kid," Frank explained. "Representing myself."

"Well, got some bad news. Aunt Ginger passed away."

Tessa could see Frank's smile fall from his face.

"On the plus side," Fiona began, "It turns out she left me the house."

"What did you do?" Frank demanded.

"Only what I had to."

Frank scoffed and shook his head.

"How about a thank you?" Fiona asked. "Now there's no danger they'll haul you away for social security fraud."

"No more checks to cash either," Frank pointed out. "Fuck you very much."

Tessa rolled her eyes. She knew Fiona never saw any of that money anyway, so it wasn't like it mattered to her.

"Always about the money, isn't it?" Fiona asked.

"Work this out inside. That's why we're here," the lawyer said, standing from his seat and grabbing his briefcase.

Frank shook his head and went inside the court, grumbling to himself.

"I'll see you in there," the lawyer said to Fiona before following Frank inside.

"Fiona!" Carl's voice echoed through the hallway.

Tessa looked to see Carl running around the corner followed by Debbie, the social worker who was carrying Liam, and then Veronica.

"Hey! I missed you so much!" She said, hugging her little brother. Fiona turned to Debbie. "Hiya! Hi! Where's my little man?" Fiona asked, grinning at Liam. She took Liam from the social worker and hugged her little brother, kissing him on the forehead.

"Hey! Room for us in here?" Lip's voice asked, as him and Ian came around the corner only a moment later.

Tessa stood from her spot but stood near Jimmy, not wanting to ruin the family reunion. She felt a little out of place but didn't dwell on it. They had been through hell and this day was important for all of them.

Lip walked up to Fiona and hugged her, Fiona kissing his cheek. "Hi," she said. "Get the will?"

"Yeah, yeah. Got it." Lip held up the paper to show his sister.

"Go file it now," she said.

"Okay." Lip walked past Fiona and spotted Tessa. He grabbed her hand and started dragging her along with him.

"Frank's here without a lawyer," Tessa said.

Lip rolled his eyes. "Really? What a dumbass. Whatever. So long as Fiona gets custody that's all that matters."

They walked down the stairs and Lip dropped her hand when they got to the right department. They wove in between people and Lip walked up to the counter. "Hi, um," he began. He looked through the glass at her nametag. "Cleopatra."

Tessa had to stop herself from laughing at the ridiculous name.

"I'm here to file a will, please," Lip said. He pushed the piece of paper through the slot and the woman picked it up.

"Ginger Gallagher?" She asked.

Lip hummed in response.

"Second one today."

Tessa furrowed her eyebrows in confusion and looked at Lip.

"What?" He asked.

"Had another will filed earlier," Cleopatra said.

"Uhm, how…how is that possible?" He asked.

"Well, here's it's, uh, dated last year. It supersedes yours," she explained.

"Who the hell filed it?" He asked.

She turned the paper around so that they could see it through the glass. "Patrick Gallagher," Cleopatra said.

"Cousin Patrick," Lip said, disbelief in his voice.

"She leave the house to him?" Tessa asked.

Lip didn't answer but slowly turned to look back at the woman behind the glass. "Thank you," he said. He turned and walked away and Tessa had to try her best to keep up with him.

She knew telling him to calm down would only make things worse, but having him go off on a tangent was certainly going to make things worse.

They walked back up the stairs and Lip was about to enter the courtroom but Tessa grabbed his wrist before he could do so. He looked at her with confusion on his face.

Tessa pulled him towards her and placed her hands on either side of his face. "We'll figure this out, okay? Let's just focus on Fiona getting custody and we'll figure this will shit out later. I'll be there for whatever you need," she said.

Lip stared at her for a moment but eventually leaned forward and kissed her hard. She dropped her hands from his face and he pulled away, grabbing her hand and pulling her into the courtroom as quietly as he could.

The two of them sat behind Ian and Lip placed a hand on his brother's shoulder to let him know he was there. It seemed like the Judge was currently asking Carl questions and Tessa just hoped he knew not to say anything stupid.

"He got me into camp," Carl said.

"Camp?" The Judge asked.

"My first time."

"Had a good time at camp?" The Judge asked with a small smile on his face.

Carl grinned and nodded his head. "Yeah," he answered, looking over at Frank who was smiling back at his son.

"Happy when he came back?" The Judge asked.

Carl shrugged. "I guess."

"What about you, Deborah?" The Judge asked Debbie. "Were you glad when your father came back?"

"I was glad he wasn't dead," she said.

"Did you miss him while he was gone?" He asked.

She hesitated for a moment. "Uh, very much."

"Did he get you into camp?" The Judge questioned.

Debbie made a noise that told the Judge no. "I spent the summer at the pool. Daddy helped me learn."

"How to swim?" He tried to clarify.

"Sort of," Debbie said. "It was a hard summer. I wouldn't have made it through without him. Fiona helped me too."

Tessa reached over and grabbed Lip's hand. The kids were saying too many positive things about Frank. The Judges always favored keeping the kids with their parents and it was sounding like Frank wasn't such an awful father after all. Tessa knew what he was actually like. She had seen his true colors and she had only been around the Gallagher family for months.

"Mr. Gallagher," the Judge began. "You have very special children."

"That's why I had to leave, Your Honor. I couldn't stand to see them live through my battles with addiction any longer. It's my fight, not theirs."

Tessa rolled her eyes and she heard Lip scoff.

"So, you left."

Frank nodded. "To get help," he said. "Sometimes the hardest part is admitting you need it, and I didn't want to come home until I was clean and sober, a father they could be proud of," he gushed. "It isn't easy, but every day I still have one of these is a good day." He held up a chip that people got from AA meetings.

"You're not buying this, are you?" Fiona asked.

Tessa raised her eyebrows, surprised at Fiona's outburst.

"Ms. Gallagher," The Judge warned.

"Have you seen his record?" She asked.

"Right here," he said. He took his glasses off and looked down at the papers in front of him. "Breaking and entering, drunk and disorderlies, public urination, solicitation, possession, possession with intent, domestic disturbance, four DUIs, and you don't even own a car." The Judge looked up at Frank.

"Alcohol is a cruel mistress," Frank said.

"He hasn't stopped drinking, and he never will," Fiona said.

"Your Honor, if I may?" Frank stood up from his seat. "Fiona has been hurt by my behavior too many times to believe I've changed. That's my fault, not hers. She has kept things going in my absence, and I will be forever grateful. I'm not the perfect parent. I like to have a good time, to live life to the fullest. Sometimes I go too far. But I love my kids. They mean the world to me. I don't know…I don't know what I'd be if I wasn't a dad. I'd be nothing. Please, don't take my kids away from me." Frank's speech would have anyone fooled who didn't actually know him. His tone was full of sorrow but the others knew better. They knew he was full of shit.

Tessa saw no sympathy in the Judge's eyes and hoped that he hadn't bought Frank's sob story either. "Ms. Gallagher," he began. "Do you want to tell me why your father should be declared unfit?"

"We were living out of a car once. Uncle Nick had kicked us out. We couldn't find anyone else who'd take us in. Lip and Ian and me were sleeping in the backseat when Frank pulled over. Middle of the night. Think it was Halstead. Told me to take the boys and sit on a curb, and he'd be right back. I was six. Few hours later, we're still sitting on the sidewalk, and Ian's head is burning up. He's hysterical. I don't know what to do. So I ran down the street, Lip under one arm, Ian under the other, trying to flag down help. It would have been easier scoring crack than a ride to the clinic. I finally made it on foot. They said Ian had a fever of 104. After a couple hours, who knows? I didn't find Frank until a couple days later. First thing he asked me was how much money I had on me. I wish I could say that was the only time, but it was just the first. My mother's bipolar and my father's an alcoholic and an addict. He takes what he pleases and he offers nothing. No money, no support. I've done what I could to help raise my siblings. I wish I could have done more. I'm not asking for your pity or your admiration. I just want to be able to give these kids everything that they deserve, because they're great kids and they deserve better."

Tessa could hear the crack in Fiona's voice and she wasn't surprised. Tessa felt herself getting choked up at her best friend's story. She found herself scooting closer to Lip and she kissed his shoulder. He was staring at the blank spot in front of his face and she wondered if he remembered the story Fiona had just told.

"Chambers please." He banged his gavel and everyone stood as the Judge left the room. Fiona and her lawyer followed and everyone else sat back down as they waited to see what would happen.

It felt like forever until Fiona and her lawyer reappeared. They sat back at their table and a moment later the bailiff told everyone to rise and the Judge re-entered the courtroom.

"Mr. Gallagher, you have admitted it's been challenging to handle this responsibility on your own. Now, if I allow you to retain your parental rights, would you consent to your daughter becoming guardian to these children?" The Judge asked.

"They'd still be my kids?" Frank asked.

"Provided you attend sixty days of AA."

"But she'd have all the responsibility?" Frank asked. Of course he was only concerned with not having to be responsible for the kids.

"Not _all_ ," The Judge answered. "But yes."

"Works for me."

The Judge motioned to Fiona and she rose from her seat. "Would you agree to be the guardian of these children?" he asked.

"Yes, I do," Fiona answered.

A grin spread across Tessa's face and she squeezed Lip's hand.

"Well, that will be my order then. Take your children home." He banged his gavel and everyone began to smile.

Ian stood up and threw his hands into the air. He began cheering and soon everyone else began to cheer in happiness. Lip and Tessa stood up and she embraced him, a grin on her face. She thought about asking if he was going to tell Fiona about the house but didn't want to ruin the moment. She knew that Lip would tell Fiona when the time was right.

Lip moved out of Tessa's grasp after kissing her on the cheek. He went over to hug Fiona and Tessa stood back and observed all the siblings hugging one another.

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Once everyone got home, all the kids rushed inside and Tessa helped Fiona grab whatever bags had been left behind.

"I got Xbox!" Someone yelled.

"Who wants to hit the pool?" Lip yelled.

"Oh me!" Ian said. "I got swim diapers."

Tessa walked around Fiona and Jimmy and wrapped her arm around Debbie. "Glad to have you back, Debs." Tessa grinned down at the red head.

"I'm so glad to be back. I can't wait to sleep in my bed tonight," Debbie said with a grin.

"I bet," Tessa said.

Everyone was ushered outside even though no one had actually put bathing suits on. Carl jumped into the water with all his clothes on and Tessa laughed at him. Ian pulled his shirt off and slipped his shoes off before joining his younger brother. He did his best to jump near him, trying to splash him as best he could.

Tessa stood next to Fiona and folded her arms across her chest. She grinned at the sight in front of her. "I'm so happy for you," Tessa said.

Fiona was grinning as well. "I am happy," Fiona replied. "I've taken care of these kids for as long as I can remember. And now I can have a real chance at making sure nothing like this happens again."

Tessa opened her mouth to say something but a yelp escaped her lips when she felt herself being picked up from behind. It didn't take long to realize that Lip had been the perpetrator. He flung her over his shoulder and she began to thrash about, knowing what he was up to.

"Philip Gallagher I'm going to kill you!" Tessa screeched.

He laughed and ignored her threat. He was far too interested in tossing her in the pool. Lip hauled her up higher so he could toss her over the side of the pool. She tried her best to hold onto him but he knew what he was doing. He put all his strength behind throwing her into the water and she screamed as she went through the air. She fell into the water and when she finally surfaced she ran her hands over her face to clear the water from her eyes.

"I'm going to murder you," Tessa said while glaring at Lip.

He grinned and pulled his shirt and shoes off. He quickly jumped in the pool and Tessa saw that Fiona was cracking up. "It's not funny!" Tessa yelled, even though a smile was fighting its way onto her face.

When Lip surfaced the water Tessa placed her hands on his shoulders and pushed him back under with all her strength. He went under but it was likely just because he hadn't been expecting it. He could have stayed above water had he really wanted to.

When he finally made his way back up, Tessa kept her arms wrapped around his neck and she hung off his back.

"Come on Debs, how about some chicken!" Lip suggested.

"Team Ginger!" Ian yelled, pumping a fist in the air.

Debbie had finally caved and jumped in the pool with her clothes on after Tessa had been thrown in by Lip.

"Okay!" She agreed.

Debbie made her way over to Ian and he helped her get onto his shoulders.

Lip went under so Tessa could crawl onto his shoulders and when she was situated he stood and held onto her legs to keep her balanced as best he could.

"Ready?" Lip asked, a grin on his face.

"Go!" Ian yelled.

Tessa and Debbie locked hands and tried fighting one another. Tessa wasn't trying as hard as she would if she was fighting Fiona or V, but she was making sure it wasn't obvious to Debbie.

After a few moments of the girls thrashing about and the boys trying to keep their balance, Tessa finally ripped one hand out of Debbie's grasp and began to tickle her sides.

Debbie yelled out and began laughing. She jerked away from Tessa's hand and the quick movement caught her off guard, making her loose balance. She fell off Ian's shoulders and Tessa threw her hands in the air.

"Victory!" She yelled.

Lip pushed Tessa off his shoulders and she fell back into the water. Not expecting the ungraceful dismount, she splashed Lip when she surfaced the water. "Ass!" She yelled.

Tessa grinned at Debbie. "Come on Debs! Don't you remember last summer when I told you that you had to tickle the other person to win?" Tessa recalled the previous summer when Debbie had been playing chicken with V and Tessa had given the redhead the advice.

"That was forever ago!" Debbie complained.

She shrugged and jumped onto Lip's back. She kissed his cheek and wrapped her legs around his waist. "Sucks to suck!" Tessa stuck her tongue out at Debbie.

"Don't worry Debs, we'll get a rematch soon," Ian said to his sister.

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 _Remember, I have the next few chapters written already. Shit is about to get real with Tessa and Lip. Reviews get faster chapters!_


	25. TWENTY-FIVE

_Reviews make me smile! I don't like using the "threat" of not posting chapters if I don't get reviews, but sometimes you have to realize that the reviews give me that extra push to finish a chapter or bust through an extra one. Reviews allow me to see how the readers perceive the story thus far and note any questions they might have. Reviews give me that extra confidence boost that I need. So remember – be kind and review!_

Fiona furrowed her eyebrows when she saw who was calling her. She hadn't talked to him in a while, and as far as she knew, he had a girlfriend. But she answered anyways. "Hey – how are you," she asked. She didn't really have time to talk to him considering her dilemma with possibly losing the house to her cousin Patrick, but listened anyway.

She waited and listened to what he had to say, her facial features quickly changing. Her eyes grew wide and she glanced into the living room. She made eye contact with Lip who was playing video games on the couch with Carl. She turned and finished her conversation. "Thanks Tony, I appreciate it." She tucked her phone into her pocket and walked into the living room. "Hey guys I'll be right back. I just need to run out for a little bit."

Lip paused the game and Carl yelled out in protest and Lip pulled Fiona off to the side. "What's going on?" he asked. Fiona glanced over at Carl who had stolen Lip's controller and un-paused the game. "Tessa was arrested," Fiona said in a hushed tone.

His eyebrows shot up and he pulled his phone out. No missed calls. Why hadn't she called him? He was a little pissed that she had called her sister instead of himself.

"So what did she say?" he asked.

Fiona shook her head. "That wasn't her. That was Tony."

"Arrested for what?" Lip tried to ignore the bubbling anger inside of him.

"Simple assault," Fiona said. She glanced at Carl again. "Will you stay with Carl while I go see what's going on?" She asked.

He shook his head. "Fuck no."

Fiona should have known Lip would have refused her request, but she knew she had to at least try. "Carl, we'll be back." Her and Lip left the house and went towards the L as quickly as they could. Both Gallagher siblings had a million thoughts running through their minds. What had happened? Why hadn't Tessa called them? How bad had things gotten? They had seen her just the other day and things had been fine. Tessa had been fine.

When they walked into the police station they spotted Tony and immediately walked up to him.

"What happened?" Fiona asked.

Tony glanced around before turning back to the siblings. He really shouldn't have even called Fiona to begin with, but truth be told he still had a soft spot for her and he knew how Tessa was close to the Gallaghers. "Picked her up for beating some shit out of a guy. No relationship to him and he won't be pressing charges," Tony said.

"Yeah because no one wants to know a chick kicked his ass," Lip scoffed.

"I'll see what I can do about our Prosecutor not going forward with the charges either, but he can do whatever he wants regardless of the victim," he explained.

Fiona sighed and ran a hand through her curly hair. What the hell had Tessa done? What could have possibly set her off like that? She just wanted to get her friend and get out of there.

"But, uh, someone already bailed her out," Tony said.

The siblings exchanged confused glances. Tessa hadn't called them so who could have possibly bailed her out?

"Who?" Fiona asked.

"Oh uhm. Someone named Samantha, I think?"

Fiona knew that Tessa had worked with someone named Sam at the diner and bet that it was the same person. But still, she was confused as to why Tessa had called Sam and not herself.

"I gotta go but she should be getting released soon if you want to wait in the lobby." Tony nodded and offered a small smile before he walked away from the siblings.

The two walked back into the lobby and fell onto their seats. They both kept quiet as a million thoughts ran both of their heads. Every time the buzz echoed through the lobby, signaling the door opening, they looked up to see if it was Tessa.

It wasn't until fifteen minutes later that it was Tessa who actually emerged from behind the door. The officer ushered her towards the counter next to the door so she could get back her things.

Tessa shoved her belongings into her bag and turned to find Fiona and Lip looking at her. She had a gash in her eyebrow and a bruise was already forming on her left cheek. Her knuckles were painted in dry blood and ripped open; clearly no one had bothered giving her anything to clean them up with.

"What are you doing here?" Tessa asked. She did not give them a smile and she did not rush towards them to embrace them. Instead, she walked towards them slowly as if she were afraid of what would happen next.

"Tony called us," Fiona said. "Are you okay?" Fiona asked and she rushed forward and reached a hand out to touch Tessa's face. Tessa flinched and hurt crossed Fiona's face. "Sorry," Tessa mumbled. She hadn't meant to hurt Fiona's feelings. She just didn't want anyone fussing over her.

"What the hell happened?" Lip scoffed.

Tessa folded her arms across her chest and glared at Lip. "You're fucking joking, right?" She raised an eyebrow.

The door opened and Sam walked out of the bathroom. The dark haired girl stopped walking, already feeling tension in the group. She did not want to walk in on that. Instead she waited by the door for Tessa to finish her conversation.

"Notice you _weren't_ my one phone call," Tessa pointed out to Lip. She offered a small smile to Fiona. "I'll call you later Fi. Thanks." She walked around the siblings and ushered Sam out the door.

Lip clenched his jaw and after a moment he rushed out after the girls. "What the fuck Tessa!" He shouted after her. A few police officers tossed glares at him but he ignored them.

She told Sam she would meet her at the car and turned to face Lip. "What?" she asked. She turned to look at Lip who looked pissed off. After everything she had just dealt with, she really didn't feel like dealing with him.

He held his arms out like it were obvious and she shook her head, pursing her lips into a bitter smile. "You think I wouldn't find out? I know you fucked Mandy Milkovitch! And I know it wasn't just one time so don't even try! So don't come after me like I'm the one who did something wrong!" She yelled.

For once, Lip was at a loss for words. He hadn't meant for her to find out. He wasn't even sure how it had all happened. It just…had.

"Your silence speaks volumes, " she scoffed. Tessa ran a hand down her face and shook her head. "I don't know what I expected, but I'm done. I'm not doing this Lip." She turned to leave which seemed to snap Lip out of his frozen state. He ran after her and grabbed her arm, spinning her around and forcing her to look at him.

"Tessa it didn't mean anything."

She laughed and ripped her arm from his grip. "You're a lot stupider than I thought if you really thought I'd fall for a line like that. What? You didn't mean for your dick to fall into her vagina? Multiple times?" She clenched her teeth and fought off the urge to punch Lip in the mouth, but her hands were already screaming at her in pain.

"I _told_ you, I didn't do casual hook-ups. I _told_ you, I had no tolerance for cheating. And you did it anyways. Do you have any idea how stupid I feel for believing you?" She shook her head and tried not to cry. She hated crying. "I don't want to hate you, Lip, but you're making it really hard. So can you please, just leave me alone?" Tessa ran a hand through her hair and walked away from him.

She was thankful that he didn't try to go after her again. She just wanted to go home, shower, and lay in bed. She didn't have to work tomorrow and was thankful for that rare opportunity. However, she knew she would at least have to talk to Fiona and explain things. Her fallout with Lip shouldn't affect her friendship with Fiona. Tessa got into the car and Sam gave her a worried glance. Sam, who almost always wore an unamused expression, or resting bitch face as people called it these days. "You okay?" Her friend asked.

"Just bring me home," Tessa said.

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Halfway home Tessa remembered that Lip had a key to her apartment and made a pit stop at the hardware store to buy a new lock for her door. She didn't want any surprise visits from him anytime soon, and it wasn't something she would put past him.

She had no intention of telling Lip how she found out about Mandy. It really shouldn't matter but she had promised that person to keep them as a source to herself, even if they said they didn't care. She didn't want to cause problems.

Sam dropped her off and asked if she wanted her to come inside, but Tessa insisted that she was fine. Tessa said goodbye to Sam and went inside. She half expected Lip to already be waiting for her, but was glad when she came back to her empty apartment. She immediately began working on her locks and it didn't take her long to switch everything out. She took her old key off her keychain and tossed it in the trash before she put the new one on.

Deciding that a shower was her next step, Tessa stripped her clothes off and started herself a shower. She waited until the water became hot before she stepped inside. She finally let the tears fall after trying so hard to keep them inside. She hated crying but she was only human. She had really cared for Lip and he had gone and completely broken her trust. She should have known that he couldn't be exclusive to one girl. She should have listened to her gut instead of her heart. God, she really hated herself.

She gently brushed the dried blood off her knuckles and ignored the searing pain that hit her when the hot water touched her open wounds. She hadn't even been aware of the fight until someone was dragging her away. She remembered getting off the phone and then taking a walk to clear her mind. Then the next thing she knew she was getting pulled off some guy and hauled into a police car.

Tessa's fingers pressed into her cheek and she winced at the tenderness. She hadn't looked at herself in a mirror but bet that a bruise had already started to form there from the one good hit the guy had gotten in on her. There was no way she could work at the club like this. Meg would have a fit at her appearance.

The hot water ran out and Tessa finally pulled herself out of the shower. She wrapped herself in a towel and wiped her hand over the mirror to get rid of the mask the steam had created. She looked like shit and a bruise had indeed already formed on her cheek. Her eyes were red but not so puffy, which she was thankful for. The last thing she needed was for someone to know that she had been crying.

She needed to talk to Fiona. She needed to explain everything to her because Lip sure as hell wasn't going to. She winced when she remembered the hurt expression on Fiona's face when Tessa had pulled away from her at the police station. She had grown so accustomed to having people that cared about her around, but she already felt herself pulling away. She couldn't let that happen. She couldn't let Fiona suffer for something she had nothing to do with.

Tessa considered asking Fiona to come over tonight, but decided against it. Tonight she was be the heartbroken girl that she was. Tonight she would cry herself to sleep and turn her phone off. Tomorrow she would face the world, explain things to Fiona and pretend like Lip hadn't actually broken her heart.

 _A:N/ WHAT DID YOU GUYS THINK?! I know this was short but I really wanted to get this out to you guys, especially after so many of you reviewed the last chapter. I honestly had the police station scene written out two months ago and was just waiting for the right time to use it. Who do you guys think told Tessa about Mandy and Lip? What do you think is going to happen between the two? Let me know what you think! The next chapter will reveal who told Tessa, so I'm interested to see what you guys think._


	26. TWENTY-SIX

_You guys were AWESOME with all the reviews! It seriously makes me smile when I get alerts for review; you have no idea. Then of course I sit here and write the next chapter. I already have 27 written so lots of reviews will get the next one quicker! We're almost done with season three – I can't believe it!_

"What the hell did you do?!" Fiona screamed at Lip as soon as the two walked in the door.

"Nothing!" He yelled back.

Fiona glared at her brother and was about to smack him upside the head until he threw his hands up. "Alright!" He yelled. "I was hooking up with Mandy Milkovich a few times. But I don't know how she found out!" He yelled back at his sister.

Fiona shot him a look of disgust. She thought that Tessa would be good for Lip and that he would stop screwing around. She should have known better. She should have told her friend it was a bad idea instead of encouraging it. She felt like a bad friend because she had hoped the relationship would benefit Lip. She hadn't thought about how it might hurt Tessa. "You're such a dick!" Fiona snapped. "No wonder she was so pissy at the station. I'm surprised she didn't kick _your_ ass."

"I don't have time for your shit, Fiona!" Lip snapped. "Tessa's trying to end things, Mandy's being clingy as shit, and now Karen's back. I have enough on my plate without you breathing down my back. Now why don't you give it a rest and go do something useful like figure out how we're gonna keep this goddamn roof over our head!"

Her eyes widened and Fiona stared at her brother's angry face. They had gotten into fights before but this was one of the more intense ones. On top of that she had caught him saying that Karen was back in town, which she knew would not end well. "Well maybe if you hadn't been sleeping with Mandy in the first place she wouldn't be clingy!" Fiona snapped back.

Lip scoffed and shook his head. He went upstairs and left Fiona by herself. She flopped down on the couch and closed her eyes, attempting to get her breathing back to normal. The sound of someone descending the stairs into the living room caught her attention and she sat up and turned to see Ian coming downstairs.

"What's going on?" He asked.

"Tessa was arrested," Fiona said. "We went down to get her but someone else was there for her. I think she ended things with Lip. Turns out he had been cheating on her with Mandy." Fiona shook her head. She still couldn't believe what a dumbass her brother was.

Ian let out his breath. "Fuck," he muttered. "I shouldn't have told her over the phone."

Fiona furrowed her eyebrows. "What are you talking about?" She asked.

Ian came and sat down on the couch next to Fiona. "I told Tessa that Lip was hooking up with Mandy. Mandy may be my best friend but I care about Tessa too. At first I thought it was just a one-time thing but it's happened more than once. And now Karen's back in town and I'm not going to let him do that to Tessa. So I told her," he confessed.

Her eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Shit," she mumbled. "How long has this been going on?" She asked.

Ian shrugged. "I don't know. Since Lip went with Mandy to get her sister, Molly?" He guessed. "Maybe a little before."

There was a small silence between the siblings before Ian spoke up.

"I don't know how to fix this one, Fiona," he began. "Tessa isn't going to want to be around Lip but she's apart of this family now. We can't just let her disappear."

Fiona shook her head and placed her hand on Ian's knee, squeezing it to reassure him. "We'll figure it out." She didn't believe her words because quite frankly, she had no idea how she would figure it out. But it wasn't Ian's problem and he shouldn't be the one concerned about fixing it.

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When Tessa woke up it was nearly one in the afternoon. She couldn't remember the last time she had slept this late. She picked up her phone and was confused to not see her screen lighting up, but then remembered she had turned her phone off last night so she could get some peace and quiet.

Deciding she had to go back to the real world, she turned her phone back on and set it back on the nightstand. Rolling onto her back she sighed and stared at her ceiling. Normally she would throw herself into work but Meg wasn't going to let her work looking the way she did. She would help Fiona with the whole Ginger's will fiasco but couldn't be around Lip right now. Then again, school was starting so he probably wouldn't be around.

Her phone began to buzz, signaling that her phone was receiving all the texts it couldn't get the previous night. Ignoring it, she got out of bed to use the restroom, hoping that it would be done once she returned to her room.

Tossing her hair in a bun on top of her head, she walked back into her room and picked up her phone. There were texts from Ian, Fiona and several from Lip. There was one from Sam saying that if she needed anything to call her. She knew that's all she would hear from Sam and she was sort of thankful. There were missed calls from Lip and voicemails but she immediately deleted them without listening. She had no desire to listen to his excuses.

She scrolled through her contacts until she found Fiona's name. She pressed the call button and waited for Fiona to answer.

She answered quickly and Tessa was a little concerned at just how quickly Fiona had picked up. "Oh Tessa, I'm so glad you called," Fiona said.

She chuckled and rolled her eyes. "Yeah sorry. I was getting around to it," she said. "Do you want to come over? I was thinking we could kinda catch up and maybe talk about ideas for getting the house back."

"I'd love to."

Fiona agreed to come over and said she would be over soon. Tessa decided that it was best that she get dressed and get ready for the day. Well, at least what was left of the day.

She put on jeans and a comfortable hoodie and waited for Fiona to come. She grabbed something to eat even though she wasn't really hungry and picked up around the apartment.

When someone knocked on her door she walked over and looked through the peephole just in case. Once she saw it was Fiona she opened the door and let her friend walk inside.

Fiona turned to look at her friend and Tessa could read her face almost immediately. Letting out a sigh, Tessa nodded her head. "Alright come here. I know you're itching to give me one," Tessa said.

Fiona grinned and engulfed Tessa in a hug. She rubbed Tessa's back for a moment before finally releasing her friend. She held her at arms length and pursed her lips. "How are you doing?" She asked.

Tessa shrugged. "I'm fine," she lied.

"Tessa if I had known, you know I would have told you," Fiona gushed.

She shook her head quickly. "Fiona it's fine. I know you would have," she assured her. "Besides, there were some signs that I just didn't pick up on. Like, Mandy trying to get him to apply to colleges and things like that." She shrugged. "I don't really want to talk about it if that's okay."

Fiona nodded and the two walked into the living room and sat down on Tessa's couch. "So what have you guys come up with so far?" Tessa asked.

"Uh let's see. Prove Patrick's will is a fake, saying Ginger was insane, convincing him to back off, and much to Carl's delight, killing Patrick."

Tessa had to chuckle at the last option. Knowing the Gallagher's she wasn't surprised it was on the list.

"Lip's looking at probate law," Fiona began, but her sentence trailed off once she realized she had brought up her brother. "Sorry." She winced. "I know you don't want to talk about him."

Tessa sighed. "It's fine Fiona. I'm not a glass doll."

Fiona hummed in response but Tessa could tell she wasn't convincing her friend. "Have you worked on trying to talk to him at all?" Tessa asked. She had never met the cousin but from what she had heard, he sounded like a real douche.

"He's been barging around the house, taking the toilet out and acting like he's getting ready to flip it and that we're not even living there," she said with a scoff.

"Maybe you _should_ skip to option four," Tessa said after narrowing her eyes like she was seriously considering the option.

Fiona glared at her before rolling her eyes. "Don't say that around Carl."

"Have you asked about renting it from him?" Tessa tried.

"Not yet," she said. "God I think I may have given money to my brothers this morning to pay for someone to go and rough Patrick up a bit to back off." Fiona rested her head in her hands. "I shouldn't even be complaining to you about this after what you went through yesterday."

Tessa shook her head. "Fiona it's fine. This problem is bigger than mine. In fact, I don't even have a problem."

Fiona sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "I don't know how I let this happen," she said.

"Look, worse case scenario I take some of you here and the rest can maybe stay with Kev and V for a bit?" She suggested. "You or Debbie can bunk with me and then my couch turns into a bed so Ian and Carl could always sleep there. Might have to put Liam back in a crib for the time being but…"

"You don't have to do this," Fiona cut her off.

Tessa made a confused face. "But I want to. Despite everything that's happened you guys are still my family. Don't get me wrong; in no way, shape or form do I want Lip here, but I'm going to squeeze as many of you in here as I can."

Fiona chuckled and Tessa offered her a smile. "I think there's a place on the floor below mine available too. Two bedrooms but it could be something for the short-term. I can talk to my landlord about the price and availability." Tessa only had the one bedroom so she had no idea how much the two would cost.

She nudged her friend with her elbow. "Come on, that would be pretty fun, right? Running up and down, back and forth between our apartments." It wasn't something Tessa would completely enjoy but she needed Fiona to keep her chin up in order for things to work out. Fiona was the leader of the family. If Fiona couldn't figure things out then that family would have been screwed ages ago.

She was able to get a tiny laugh out of Fiona and she felt a small amount of success at the feat.

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A few days later Tessa had found out that the intimidation plan hadn't gone so well with Patrick. Patrick had retaliated by telling Fiona that he would rent her the place for a hefty price, along with first, last month's rent and a safety deposit.

Fiona said she had looked at a super sketchy apartment that they could barely afford. After getting off the phone with her, Tessa had immediately gone to her landlord to ask about the apartment for rent in her building. She had done her best at convincing him to let her show Fiona the place and he had reluctantly agreed.

She had texted Fiona to meet her at her apartment so she could show her the place. It was a lot nicer than the other place she had looked at for the same price. It may have been a bit smaller but at least this one gave them the option of putting some of the kids with Tessa.

The sound of someone knocking on the door pulled Tessa from her thoughts. She grabbed the keys for the apartment downstairs and walked over to the door. She opened her door and was surprised to see that Fiona wasn't alone. Everyone was there. Including Lip.

"Sorry," Fiona apologized. "They all wanted to come."

Tessa forced a smile and moved out of her apartment, shutting the door behind her. "No worries," she said.

She began to lead them down the stairs and towards the apartment, but Tessa could feel someone staring at her. She knew it was Lip but she was going to do her best to ignore him. She did not want to deal with him, especially in front of everyone.

Once she got to the door she used the key to unlock it. Pushing the door open, Tessa stepped inside and looked around. The set-up was similar to hers but it was slightly bigger given that it had two bedrooms.

"Kinda nice," Fiona said, surprise evident in her voice.

"Yeah," Tessa agreed. She hadn't seen pictures of the other place they had looked at, but from the way Fiona had described it she assumed beating it wasn't all that hard.

Everyone began looking around at the empty apartment and Tessa made sure to stick close to Fiona so that Lip couldn't pull her aside. She knew that he wanted to. She could feel his eyes lingering on her.

"Any idea if anyone else is looking at this place?" Fiona asked.

Tessa shook her head. "No idea. But I can ask when I give him the keys back."

Fiona nodded. "Okay. Let me know. We're going to see how it goes at probate court but it would be nice to have this as our back up. Any way you could convince him to put this on hold for us?"

She bit her lip. "Uhm depends. When is court?"

"Two days," Lip answered.

Her eyes darted towards him but she quickly looked back at Fiona. "Should be able to," Tessa said, even though she had no idea if he would agree to something like that.

Everyone left the apartment and Tessa made sure to lock it once she had closed the door.

"Come over later?" Fiona asked. Debbie grinned up at Tessa, hoping she would say yes.

She wanted to say no. She did not want to be around Lip. It was still too fresh and being in his home was not a smart idea.

"Maybe," she said slowly with a forced smile. "Sam wanted to do something but I can double check," Tessa lied.

Fiona nodded and ushered the kids down the hall with Tessa trailing behind. Ian fell in step next to her and she was thankful for having someone there. Needless to say, Lip started walking on her other side a moment later.

"Thanks for this," he said.

Tessa pursed her lips, trying her best not to snap at him. "I didn't do it for you. I did it for your family," she said.

She kept her gaze forward but she could see Lip nod his head out of the corner of her eye.

"Tessa, can I uh, talk to you for a sec?" Lip asked.

She glanced over at Ian who raised his eyebrows in question. He would stick around if she wanted him to but Tessa sighed and nodded her head. Ian walked a little faster to catch up with the rest of his siblings.

"What do you want, Lip?" She asked.

"Look," he began. "I'm sorry for what happened, okay?"

He sure as hell didn't sound sorry. "Sorry for what you did or sorry for getting caught?" She asked with a scoff.

Lip shook his head. "You knew I wasn't into the exclusive relationship thing and you hadn't exactly been around," he said.

Her eyebrows shot up. Was he honestly trying to put the blame on her? " _You_ were the one that came to me wanting to give this a shot, Lip. I'm sorry I wasn't around whenever you wanted to screw but I have this thing called a job that was sort of crucial to keeping a roof over my head." She huffed and shook her head. She couldn't believe she had actually stopped to listen to what he had to say.

Tessa quickly walked away from Lip but he was able to catch up to her. He grabbed her wrist and she glared at him. "How can I get you to stop running away from me and to just forgive me so we can move past this?" he asked, his tone clearly annoyed.

Tessa scoffed again. "What part of 'I'm done' do you not understand? But you have Mandy to run to. And you even have Karen now, so why don't you go back one of them if you're in such desperate need of companionship."

She tugged her wrist out of his grasp and walked away from him. His facial expression made her believe he was unaware that she knew Karen was back in town. It was probably something he had planned on keeping from her anyways. Tessa waved to the Gallaghers before turning to the stairs and heading up to her floor.

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"I wanted to wear this but Fiona wouldn't let me," Debbie said with a frown. She held up the articles of clothing that Mandy had let her borrow for school.

Tessa scrunched up her nose. "Looks pretty trashy, Debs."

"That's what Fiona said. Mandy said it would make me look cool," Debbie explained.

Her eyebrows shot up. "Mandy?" she asked. "No wonder they look slutty," she mumbled.

Debbie frowned and put the clothes down. "Mandy's nice," Debbie said.

"Maybe," Tessa said. "But Mandy slept with Lip while we were together so forgive me if I have nothing nice to say about her."

Debbie's mouth opened wide and her eyebrows shot up. "What?!" She asked.

Shit. The comment had sort of tumbled out of her mouth without her even thinking. Debbie was too young to know about all this drama. She didn't need to be involved. Although Tessa had to admit she was disappointed when Debbie said that she liked Mandy. She needed Debbie and everyone else to hate Mandy as much as she did.

"Forget about it," Tessa said, shaking her head.

"No! What happened?" Debbie asked.

Sighing, Tessa ran a hand through her hair. "Debbie I shouldn't have said anything. Everyone will get upset when the find out I did so please don't say anything. Just know that Mandy is the reason Lip and I broke up."

"You and Lip broke up?" She asked.

She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. Was no one aware of that? "Yes," Tessa said slowly.

"I heard Lip talking about a fight you guys had but he never said anything about breaking up," Debbie explained.

Tessa rolled her eyes. She was going to beat him. "No. I'm definitely done with him."

A frown crossed Debbie's features. "You'll…you'll still come over though, right?"

Tessa smiled and went to sit next to Debbie on the bed. She wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close, resting her head on top of Debbie's. "Of course. I could never leave you guys," she promised.

It would be hard, but she would deal with it. She would have to. She couldn't imagine her life without the Gallaghers and part of her hated that.

The sound of Fiona's alarmed voice made Tessa look away from Debbie and try to peer out her door. "I'll be right back," she said, standing up from her spot on Debbie's bed. "Try picking through some other clothes," she suggested.

She walked out of the room and down the stairs but stopped behind Fiona. She was talking to Tony and holding a piece of paper. Tony looked awkward and she could see that he was clearly doing something he didn't want to.

"What's going on?" Tessa asked.

"Patrick's throwing us out," Fiona replied.

Her eyebrows shot up. "What?!" She exclaimed.

"This was supposed to take a couple of weeks," Fiona said.

Tony sighed. "The guy seems like an asshole. I'm trying to chill him out, but he's made a couple accusations. He said you tried to kill him."

Tessa kept a straight face but part of her wanted to laugh. She had found it hilarious when Carl had put rat poison in Patrick's sandwich. Of course, she had been forced to keep her opinion to herself so that she couldn't encourage Carl from doing something like that in the future. But she was easily able to contain her composure, or at least look surprised at the accusation.

"That's ridiculous," Fiona exclaimed.

"He has a toxicology report from the hospital. He says he wont press charges if you move out tonight," Tony explained.

"He can't be serious," she said.

He sighed. "He seems to be serious."

"But Patrick loves me."

Tessa, Fiona and Tony looked to see Debbie standing in the living room. Tessa tossed her a strange glance before turning her focus back towards the conversation between Tony and Fiona.

"Yeah, well, is there a place you can go?" Tony asked.

"Tonight? No," Fiona answered.

"Fiona, there's always my place for the night," Tessa said quietly.

"Patrick gave me candy," Debbie said.

Fiona sighed in frustration. "Debs, go get Lip and Ian, please."

Tessa started to move around Fiona to grab Debbie to grab the boys, but she froze when Debbie spoke again.

"And then he got in bed with me and touched me in my nice places."

Everyone's eyebrows shot up.

"What was that?" Tony asked. He looked like he was about to have a heart attack.

"About candy or about Patrick touching me?" Debbie asked.

"Patrick Gallagher?" Tony clarified.

Debbie hummed in response.

"And when you say 'nice places'…?" Tony slowly trailed off.

The red head giggled like she was embarrassed. "Uh, private places."

Tessa looked to Fiona who was holding the eviction notice over her mouth. She guessed it was to cover the laugh that she was trying to hold in. Tessa had not expected this. She knew that Patrick had never touched Debbie. She knew that Debbie was lying but she was stunned that she had come up with such a lie and was selling it so well.

Tony held his hand out. "I'll take that," he said to Fiona.

She quickly handed him the eviction notice and kept her lips pursed.

He asked for Fiona and Debbie to follow him outside and they did just that. Tessa, knowing that Lip wasn't home, ran upstairs into the boys' room. She jumped on Ian who was lying there reading a book.

He groaned and playfully glared at Tessa. "What was that for?"

"You'll never guess what just happened?" She said, her eyes sparkling with amusement.

Ian raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"I'm pretty sure you guys will be keeping the house. Debbie just sold this story to Tony about Patrick basically molesting her. No idea where she came up with that idea, but they're outside talking with Patrick now. My guess is Fiona is negotiating keeping the house with dropping the sex charges." She wiggled her eyebrows at Ian and chuckled.

His eyebrows shot up and he didn't seem to be as amused as she was. "What?!" He asked.

She rolled her eyes. "Don't worry. Fiona could tell it wasn't real, but Tony totally bought it. Although, he may have a guess that it's not real since he knows Patrick is a total douche and still wants to get in Fiona's pants," Tessa explained.

"But you guys are keeping the house!" She said. She leaned forward and embraced Ian, falling on top of him and sighing. "Not that trying to fit some of you guys into my apartment didn't sound appealing."

Ian chuckled and hugged her back. Tessa snuggled into Ian and there was a comfortable silence between the two for a short amount of time.

"I'm sorry about Lip," Ian whispered.

Tessa sighed and closed her eyes. Why did everyone insist on apologizing about him? "It's not your fault, Ian."

"But I should have told you sooner. Or in person and not over the phone. You got arrested, Tessa."

She shrugged. "I don't think the Prosecutor is going forward with the charges so I should be fine. And I don't blame you Ian. I know Mandy is your best friend and Lip is your brother. Your loyalty lies with them first." Tessa wouldn't admit it, but she was a little hurt that Ian hadn't told her sooner.

"I had a feeling it was going on but once I knew for sure, I knew I had to tell you," Ian said. "That all may be true but I care about you too, Tessa."

She hummed in response and hoped that Ian would be done with the conversation.

"We can't let Karen get her claws into him. I don't think he could survive her again," Ian said.

Tessa sighed. Apparently he wasn't done with Lip being the topic of conversation. She sat up a bit, leaning on her elbow. "Ian, I know you mean well but I can't get involved in that. Do I still care about Lip? Of course I do, but I don't want to. I need to get over him and trying to help him with Karen is not going to make my life easier," she explained.

"You're good for him, Tessa," Ian insisted. "You can help him get his life on track."

She scoffed. "Isn't Mandy the one that applied to colleges for him?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Without asking him and only because she wanted to use Lip as her ride out of here. I think her feelings for Lip are intense, but half of their relationship is in her own mind."

Tessa didn't really know what to say, or what Ian expected her to say.

"Don't give up on him."

Now Tessa was getting irritated. "I'm not the one that cheated. He's the one that couldn't keep it in his pants. I shouldn't have to be the one to put all the effort into the relationship while he gets to do whatever the fuck he wants," she snapped.

Ian sighed. "I'm sorry – that came out wrong. I just meant that I don't think you should completely write him off. Do I think he's an ass for cheating? Absolutely. I don't think you should take him back right now but I don't think you should reject the idea of ever being with him again."

"I can't just forgive and forget, Ian." Tessa sighed and laid her head back down on his bed.

"I'm not asking you to," Ian insisted.

"Aren't you though?" She asked. "If I don't forgive him, but get back into a relationship with him, then I would constantly be resenting him or questioning where he is. I wouldn't be able to trust him. And no matter what I could never forget about what he did."

"Besides," she continued. "Let's say he does go off to college. He'll be away and long distance relationships don't work. Maybe we just weren't meant to work out."

"Do you love him?"

Her stomach dropped at Ian's question. She had strong feelings for Lip, but did she love him? She had no idea. Her feelings for Lip had been different than feelings she had for other guys she had dated, but that didn't necessarily mean anything. He really _had_ broken her heart when she found out about him cheating. For some reason, she had believed him all those months ago when he had insisted that he could stay faithful to her and that he wanted to be with her. Clearly he didn't want her as much as she wanted him.

"I don't know," she answered. "I hope not."

 _Long chapter for my lovies! What did you guys think? A lot of you guessed Ian as Tessa's source, but I also saw some of you guess Mandy, Karen and even Mickey. I had honestly considered Karen at one point but thought Ian would make more sense. I'm still trying to work out how Tessa and Lip could get back together. She isn't going to just forgive and forget so easily, as it's not in her personality. But I don't want her mad at him for the rest of season three and season four. At the moment, that is my dilemma. What did you guys think? Remember, reviews show me love!_


	27. TWENTY-SEVEN

_Remember how I said I had the next chapter written? Well I did. Probably the day before I was going to post it, my computer crashed. And I mean crashed. Normally I'm pretty good with computers. I mean, hell, I brought my Mac back from the blue screen of death. But even the Apple guys weren't really sure what happened. So I had to wait and gather my Christmas money and save up money from work to get a new computer. Needless to say I lost chapter 27 and any notes or future ideas I had jotted down. So please bear with me as I get back into the swing of things. But I'm super glad to see I've drawn in more readers as the new season started!_

Tessa's eyes fluttered open and she glanced around. She wasn't in her room, so where the hell was she? As her eyes adjusted she came to realize she was in Ian's room. Then she realized that she was cuddled up next to someone and was relieved when she realized that it was Ian. Apparently she had fallen asleep in his bed last night. How long had the two of them stayed up talking?

It had taken her a while to get Ian to leave the topic of Lip alone, but he had eventually stopped talking about his brother. She did get him to talk about Mickey, which was nice since the two of them had never really talked about Ian's relationship with him before.

She closed her eyes again and relaxed into Ian, who appeared to still be sleeping. She hadn't seen Carl on the top bunk but that didn't mean he wasn't there. Tessa hadn't heard Liam in his bed either so she had to wonder what time it was, but was too lazy to try to find her phone.

"Yo! Ian!" A voice yelled down the hallway.

Tessa knew that voice. She kept her eyes shut, not wanting to deal with Lip while she was still waking up.

She heard Lip make his way into the bedroom and pause. "What the fuck," he mumbled. Tessa wished she could have seen his face when he walked in on Tessa curled up against Ian.

She felt the bed budge and she guessed that Lip had kicked it or something, in order to wake up Ian. She felt the red head stir next to her and she knew he was awake when he tried untangling himself from Tessa.

"What the fuck, Ian?" Lip snapped.

She heard Ian scoff and once he finally got himself off the bed, she heard him usher Lip out of the room. If she weren't pretending to be asleep she would have pouted. She didn't want them whispering, because she wanted to listen to their conversation. Then again, she was pretty sure she could get Ian to tell her all about it if she asked.

"What the hell is going on?" Lip asked.

"What are you talking about?" Ian asked, finding it insane that Lip was trying to say anything was going on. "We were hanging out last night and fell asleep. You may have fucked things up with her but she's still my friend."

There was a tense silence between the two brothers and Tessa just wanted to urge them to continue their conversation. Why was Lip so distraught over Tessa falling asleep in Ian's bed? He knew that his brother was gay, so it shouldn't have been a big deal. Besides, Tessa was hardly considering a rebound at this time.

"I'm trying to get her to get over this shit, and somehow I doubt you're helping," Lip snapped.

"And you can tell me with a straight face that you're not hooking up with Karen Jackson again?"

Silence.

Tessa felt her chest hurt. She knew they weren't together anymore but the fact that he had run right back to Karen still hurt. It made her wonder if he would have done that if they still had been together. Probably. At this point Tessa couldn't put anything like that past him.

"That's what I thought," Ian said.

She heard the door slam shut and she opened her eyes. She looked at Ian and his face showed concern at making a loud noise.

"Shit, sorry Tessa," he said.

"I was awake anyway," she said.

Ian walked over and sat down on the bed next to her. "Why didn't you say anything?"

She quirked an eyebrow. "Why would I volunteer that information right before you take Lip into the hallway for a conversation?" She chuckled lightly and buried her head into the pillow, groaning as she stretched.

"Did you hear all that?" he asked.

Tessa removed her face from the pillow and nodded. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised he ran back to Karen," she said. "What pisses me off is that he seems insistent on getting back together." She scowled at the idea.

Ian shook his head. "I'm sorry, Tessa."

She sighed. "You have nothing to apologize for. I told you this a million times last night. Although…." She trailed off. "I wouldn't hate you if you helped me get out of here without running into Lip."

He laughed and nodded his head. "I'm sure I can help you with that."

There was a comfortable silence between the two before Ian spoke up.

"You know, you can't avoid him forever, right?" he asked.

Tessa sighed. "I know. But I can for a little while longer."

Ian nodded and chuckled. "Sure." He stood up and grabbed some clothes that were hanging across his dresser. "I'm gonna take a quick shower then we can escape, okay?"

She nodded and snuggled back into the bed while Ian went to shower.

Ten minutes later he returned and Tessa dragged herself from his bed. She threw her hair into a bun and followed Ian out the door. He told her to stay a few steps behind him so he could make sure Lip wasn't in the kitchen.

Once it was clear, the two walked through the kitchen and into the living room.

"Tessa!" Debbie greeted. "I didn't know you were here."

She smiled at Debbie and kissed her on the head. "Never left last night. Fell asleep in Ian's bed."

"Don't worry Debs," Ian began. "Next time she can hog your bed."

Tessa's mouth hung open in mock hurt and she punched him on the shoulder. "I do not hog the bed!" She insisted. "I'm a tiny little thing. You can't even feel that I'm there."

Ian laughed and shook his head. "Yeah, okay," he said sarcastically.

"Are you hanging out with us today?" Debbie asked.

Tessa shook her head. "I wish I could. I have to see if I can pick up some shifts at the diner since I don't think Meg will let me work until my face is healed," she explained.

Debbie frowned. "That's dumb. That's not your fault."

"Right. It's Lip's," Tessa joked.

"What?"

The three of them looked into the kitchen to see Lip walking in from the back door.

Tessa looked over at Ian and she immediately became giddy. "Run!" She shouted.

She pushed past him and out the front door. She jumped the steps without touching them and unlocked her car with ease. Once Tessa was inside the car she bounced up and down waiting for Ian, who wasn't too far behind her. Once he had the door closed she had taken off from the side of the road, laughing hysterically.

"What was that?!" Ian asked between laughs.

"I don't know!" Tessa said, shaking her head and laughing. "It's like a nervous reaction or something!"

Ian laughed and shook his head.

"You know how some people laugh when they get nervous? Like, my friend Sam laughs whenever someone cries because she doesn't know what to do. I think that's what just happened."

"Well, I'm sorry I didn't get to stay to see Lip's reaction," Ian said.

"We'll definitely have to get that story from Debbie," Tessa pointed out.

"Absolutely."

 _A:N/ I know this was really, really short, and I'm sorry. This was more about me finally being able to get the message out to you guys about what happened and that I am back since I finally got a new laptop. I promise the next one will be longer._


	28. TWENTY-EIGHT

_Now everyone blame Animal Crossing: New Leaf. I can't seem to put the game down. I've been having a hard time with the end of this season for several reasons. I'm not quite sure how I want to deal with Tessa and Lip considering he's going off to college. I have a really good Tessa storyline in mind but I'm not sure if I want to use it now. If anyone has anything they are dying to see, please let me know! I may take it into consideration._

Tessa sat on her couch watching crappy TV and smoking a joint. She had spent the rest of the morning with Ian running around town. Now she was by herself and had asked Sam to come over to smoke and watch bad TV with her. Her friend had accepted her invitation and Tessa was glad. She needed to see Sam. She needed to talk to someone who wasn't involved in the Gallagher home.

Taking another hit, she sucked in as much smoke as she could before holding her breath. She felt the burn in her throat and when she had no oxygen left, she slowly blew the smoke out towards the open window next to her TV.

A knock on the door signaled Sam's arrival. She carefully set the joint down on her table and hopped up from the couch and bounced over to the door. Unlocking it she opened it with a smile, happy to finally see Sam.

However her smile immediately dropped when she realized it wasn't Sam. "What are you doing here?" She asked.

"You changed your locks," Lip said.

She nodded slowly, not really seeing his point. "I can't really do this now, I have company coming over soon," Tessa said quickly as she tried to close the door on him.

He put his foot between the door and the frame, preventing the door from closing. "Just a minute, please?"

Tessa couldn't remember the last time she had heard Lip use the word please. Perhaps if she let him talk now then he would leave her alone. And she knew he couldn't stay forever since Sam would be over soon and she would have someone there to help her get rid of her ex.

Huffing in frustration, Tessa opened the door and allowed Lip to enter.

He walked over to the couch and sat down, immediately picking up her joint and taking a hit.

"Hey!" She protested. "That's mine!" Tessa walked around the couch and sat down next to him, snatching her source of entertainment back from him. "What do you want?" She asked before placing the blunt near her mouth to inhale.

"I uh…I got into M.I.T."

Tessa had to let down her hard exterior for just a moment and smile at him, nodding her head. "That's awesome, Lip."

He nodded. "Yeah. Mandy applied to a ton of schools for me I guess. I'm not sure if I'll go. They need me at home."

"Bringing up the girl you cheated on me with. Off to a great start cowboy," Tessa said dryly before taking another hit.

"I'm sorry, alright?" He exclaimed, exasperated with the conversation. It was as if the conversation was exhausting him and it hadn't even begun. "I don't know how it happened but it did and then it just kept happening."

"And now you're hooking up with Karen again," Tessa finished for him. She shot him a fake smile.

He shook his head. "I did once but after you and Ian left this morning I told her that I couldn't see her. I told her that she wasn't good for me."

She was sure that had gone over real well. She didn't know what to say. She wanted to believe him. She wanted to believe that he had made an honest mistake and that he was going to be different. But Tessa wasn't stupid and she wasn't someone you could fool more than once.

She shrugged. "What do you want me to say?" She asked softly.

It all happened so fast. One minute he was sitting on the couch next to her and the next minute he was kneeling in front of her and was grabbing either side of her face. Knelt down, their eyes were perfectly level and with him holding her, she was unable to look away.

"I want you to say that you forgive me. I want you say that we can move past this and that everything will be okay." His eyes never wavered from her own and it was like he was trying to say the words with such conviction that she would have to believe them.

Tessa closed her eyes since she was unable to pull her head from his grasp. How could he ask such a thing from her? He was making her feel like the bad guy when in fact, she had done nothing wrong.

The sound of the front door opening made Tessa jump and she opened her eyes. She was able to remove herself from Lip's grasp and she quickly stood and turned to see who was entering her apartment without knocking.

Sam's eyebrows were raised as she looked between Tessa and Lip. Clearly she had interrupted something. "Uh…hey?" She greeted, but it was in the tone of a question.

"Sorry," Tessa said with a forced chuckle. "Lip was just leaving."

When she turned back around to look at Lip he was standing and he did not look happy. Tessa was unbelievably thankful that Sam had showed up when she had. She had no idea what she might have said or done had her friend not barged in.

"Tessa…" he warned.

"Lip…" she mocked his tone. "I'll talk to you later. Now go – you're ruining my high." It was a lie. Tessa was hardly feeling anything from the several hits she had already taken.

He huffed in annoyance but Tessa ignored him as he left her apartment. He closed the door and Sam turned to look at her friend.

"Well that seemed…intense," she noted.

Tessa rolled her eyes. "Tell me about it. You, my dear, have perfect timing."

Sam grinned and walked over to the couch where she let herself fall. "I know," she said. "Which is why we're going to spend our afternoon getting high, watching shit TV and eating lots of junk food. Then tonight we're going out drinking so you can forget about that loser and move on!" Sam yelled at her friend with a grin.

She snatched the joint from Tessa and took a long hit.

"I don't really feel like going out," Tessa said.

Sam shook her head while she kept holding the smoke it. "Not…an…option," she said as she slowly let the smoke out. "You need to get drunk. I need to get drunk. I need to get laid. You _clearly_ need to get laid by someone other than that asshole."

Tessa chuckled but rolled her eyes. " _Samantha_ ," she mock snapped. "Do not be so crude!"

Her friend visibly shuttered. "Do not call me by that name. It's like, the first thing my mom could think of because the hospital wouldn't let her name me 'Oops'."

The two laughed at her joke and passed the joint back and forth a few more times while they talked about the diner and plenty of other things that had nothing to do with Lip. They watched a few movies, including one of Tessa's personal favorites, _The Duff_ , before they both passed out from the weed and mass amounts of junk food.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Bitch. Wake up!"

Tessa groaned and buried her head into the couch. A moment passed before her head was hit with a pillow. "I said now bitch!"

She raised her head and glared at Sam. "What the fuck?" she asked. "I was sleeping!"

"And now you're not," Sam said with a grin. "Let's go, it's time to go out drinking and get some D."

Tessa sighed. "Whatever. As long as we go somewhere other than The Alibi."

Now it was Sam's turn to roll her eyes. "Obviously. You know there _are_ other bars in Chicago, right?"

She didn't respond to her friend but worked on waking up. She had no idea how she was supposed to rally so they could go out drinking.

"Come on! It's tradition. One of us gets played by a huge douchebag and then we go out drinking and find someone else to hook up with."

"Yeah well I don't respect anyone's tradition, that's kind of my tradition," Tessa deadpanned.

"Are you mocking our tradition?" Sam asked.

"When in doubt, I am always mocking you," Tessa replied. "Besides, how many times do I have to remind you that I don't do one night stands?"

Sam shrugged. "Alright so don't stand. Lay down."

Tessa looked at her friend with an unamused expression while Sam had a shit-eating grin plastered on her face. "Ha. Ha. You're hilarious."

"I know. Now let's go get ready." Sam shuffled her way over to Tessa and started nudging her friend to get up. Eventually Tessa got up and Sam was able to push her towards her bedroom so the two could get ready.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Fiona looked up from the application she had been working on for the temp agency. "Where are you going?" She asked Ian.

He glanced down at his phone and furrowed his eyebrows. "Uhm. Cove Lounge near Hyde Park."

Her face showed her confusion. "Why are you going down there?" They never went to bars other than The Alibi.

"Tessa's down there and I think she's drunk. I don't know…" he trailed off. "I just want to make sure she's okay. I'll probably be back soon."

"What about Tessa?" Lip asked with a confused expression as he came out of the bathroom.

"Nothing," Ian assured him. He did not need Lip making the situation worse.

Before Lip could protest, Ian's cell phone began to ring and he looked down to see Tessa's name flash across his screen. He walked towards Fiona so she could hear as well, and he answered it and put it on speakerphone.

"Hello?" Ian asked.

" _Iaaannnnnn!"_ Tessa's voice shouted through the phone. They could hear the loud bar music in the background. _"Come hang out with me! You have to meet all my new friends."_

Ian quirked a brow and looked at Fiona. He certainly hadn't expected Tessa to be such a happy drunk. "Where's Sam?" Ian asked.

He heard her huff in annoyance. _"She left with some guy. But don't worry I have soooo many new friends to hang out with here. Right guys?!"_ They heard a chorus of 'yeahs' in the background and they all sounded male to Ian.

"How about you make sure you don't leave and I'll come right down, okay?" Ian asked.

" _Oh! Okay. I think…"_ She trailed off and Ian, Lip and Fiona waited for her to continue speaking. They heard her laugh before she spoke again. _"I think they want to go hang out somewhere else."_

"No. Tessa don't go anywhere, okay? Please just wait for me. I want you to show me what fun you're having and all your new friends, okay?" Ian begged. He knew that trying to reason with Tessa wouldn't work, so he would have to try to appeal to the drunk Tessa he was just now seeing for the first time.

"Tessa where are you?" Lip asked.

Ian glared at his brother. He already knew where Tessa was from her almost incoherent texts. If Tessa knew Lip was around then she might leave and Ian had no idea what her new 'friends' were really like.

" _Oh is that Lip?"_ She asked. _"He shouldn't come. I'm mad at him,"_ she said with a giggle.

They weren't sure they had ever heard Tessa 'giggle' before, but it was a strange sound.

" _I'll see you soon Gingersnap!"_ The phone disconnected and the Gallagher siblings exchanged worried glances.

"I hate to say it, but maybe Lip should go with you. You had no idea what you're walking into," Fiona said. "I would go, you know I would, but I have to get this application in ASAP. They said they might have something for me this week if I can get it in by the deadline."

Ian looked at his brother. He really didn't want Lip coming with him, but Fiona had a good point. If Mickey wasn't MIA then he would try to get him to come, but after the incident with his father he wasn't about to go knocking on the door over there.

"Let's go," Ian huffed.

The two brothers took the L to where they needed to go. Ian felt antsy the whole time, hoping that Tessa would still be there when they arrived. He had never actually been in the Cove Lounge but he knew where it was. It was on the South Side so it was something he had passed multiple times before.

Lip just wanted to see Tessa. This morning hadn't been good enough for him. He had been hoping to continue their conversation but given her current lack of sobriety, he knew that wasn't going to happen tonight. But if he could help her out while she was in a tough spot then maybe that would earn him some points with her.

They got off at the right stop and made their way towards the bar. Walking inside they looked around for Tessa but became alerted to her location when they heard her laugh.

She was off in the corner with a group of three or four guys and two other girls, neither, of which were Sam.

Ian and Lip quickly made their way over to the group and when Tessa spotted the brothers her eyes lit up. "Ian!" she shouted. She got up from her stool and stumbled into him, wrapping her arms around his neck. She continued to hold onto him but turned back towards the group. "This is my best friend Ian. He's the best guy in the whole world." She grinned and kissed his cheek.

She noticed that Lip was there and she rolled her eyes with a giggle. "I thought I said you weren't supposed to bring him." She gestured towards Lip who was standing on the other side of Ian. "That's the guy I was telling you all about! He cheated on me and broke my heart," she said. Tessa fake pouted her lip and held it like that for a moment before she began to laugh again.

"Okay now can we go?" Tessa asked.

The group began to get up from their seats but Ian shook his head. "Nah, Tessa. It's time to go home, remember?"

She frowned and shook her head. "No. I'm having fun."

"Come on kid, don't ruin her night," one of the guys said.

"Look, she's not going with you," Lip said firmly.

One of the girls in the group rolled her eyes. "Just let her go. She's not worth it you guys," the girl said.

There were some glares from a few of the guys but the group left without further incident. Tessa frowned and looked at Ian. "Why did you chase my friends away?"

"Because it's time to go home," he said. He tried coaxing her towards the door but she wasn't being helpful. He was about ready to pick her up and throw her over his shoulder.

She sighed and unwound her arm from around his neck and walked towards the door on her own. She didn't hold the door for the brothers and began to walk towards her car.

"Tessa, give me the keys," Lip said, running to catch up to her. There was no way in hell she was getting behind the wheel of that car.

"So bossy," she grumbled before pulling her keys out of her pocket and dropping them in his hand.

Lip got into the drivers seat and Tessa began to crawl into the back before she gasped. "My phone!" she patted her pockets but couldn't find it. "Ian will you go get it?" She begged.

He nodded his head and took off towards the bar. Satisfied that her phone would be retrieved, she finished crawling into the back seat and laid down across the whole back. She sighed and closed her eyes.

There was silence between Lip and Tessa until she finally decided to say something.

"Hey, Lip?"

"Yeah?" He answered, looking back at her. Her eyes were barely open but he could still see her face even though it was pretty dark out.

"Why did you do it? Was I just not good enough?"

If Tessa could break his heart, then she just did. He had no idea what to say to that. "You're too good for me," he finally whispered.

She hummed in response before closing her eyes. "I don't think so," she said.

A dry chuckle escaped his lips. "No? How come?"

"I think we made each other better," she whispered. He could tell she was slowly starting to fall asleep. He didn't want her to fall asleep; he was enthralled with what she was saying to him.

"But if you ever date a girl who you think is too good for you, just don't cheat on her, okay?" she asked. "Because she was probably falling in love with you and you'll just break her heart."

He froze at her words. Lip went to ask her a question but Ian returned to the car and got into the passenger seat. "Found it," he said.

He glanced back at Tessa and handed her phone out for her to grab. "Tessa?" Ian asked. She didn't move to grab her phone and he guessed that she had fallen asleep while he had been inside.

Ian tucked her phone into his pocket and looked over at his brother. Lip was staring into space and Ian cleared his throat. "You okay?" he asked.

His brother's voice pulled him from his thoughts and he shook his head. "Yeah man, I'm fine." He started the car and they drove off towards Tessa's house so they could put her to bed.

 _What did you guys think?! I love drunken Tessa. I also knew she was going to be a happy/affectionate drunk from the start. I think it's a little ironic that she's not an angry drunk given all her anger problems. I also used a few lines from 2 Broke Girls for Tessa and Sam's witty banter, so I don't own that marvelous writing. Please let me know what you guys thought! Reviews give me motivation to write the next chapter._


	29. TWENTY-NINE

_I'm glad everyone enjoyed the last chapter! I had so much fun writing a drunken Tessa. I'm sure that won't be the last you see of her. Special thanks to Kayla for letting me bounce ideas off of her! By the way, the sequel, Everlasting Scars, will start with season four._

There was a heavy pounding and Tessa found herself wincing when she realized the pounding was coming from inside her head. What the hell had happened last night? She remembered going out with Sam but that was about it. She frowned when she tried to think about last night. Had she seen Ian?

She sighed and went to sit up but quickly realized that she wasn't wearing any clothes. Her eyes went wide and it was then that she realized that she wasn't alone in her bed. "Oh fuck," she muttered under her breath. Had Sam actually gotten her to hook up with some random stranger?

She carefully turned to see the person next to her and she felt her stomach drop. Not a stranger; worse. It was Lip lying, equally naked, on his back. Luckily he was still asleep and she hoped that she could sneak out of her room without waking him.

Tessa removed herself from bed as slowly and carefully as she could. Once she had completed that task she quickly found some clothes to wear and snatched her phone before running out into the hallway.

She looked through her texts but didn't see anything that might explain how she had ended up with Lip in her bed. She saw that she had texted Ian asking for him to come hang out at the bar, but that was it. She checked her phone calls and saw that she had called Ian as well.

Dialing his number, Tessa went into the kitchen and sat on the floor with her back against a cabinet.

"How's it going, sleeping boozy?" Ian answered.

She huffed. "Not good. What the _hell_ happened last night?"

He laughed. "Well for starters, I did not take you as a giggly drunk. It's adorable."

"Ian, shut the fuck up and tell me what happened." Tessa was really not in the mood.

"Fine," he said with a sigh. "You called me to come hang out with you and your 'new friends' so I went down and Lip came with me. You seemed fine with him being there and even insisted on him bringing you home after he dropped me off. Is he still there or something?" Ian asked.

Tessa closed her eyes and bit the inside of her cheek. "Oh yeah. I'd…I'd definitely say he's still here."

There was a pause, telling Tessa that Ian was waiting for her to elaborate.

"Because he's naked in my _fucking_ bed."

"Oh shit!" He exclaimed.

"Why the hell did you think letting him take me home, alone, was a good idea?" Tessa whined.

"I don't know! You wanted him to! You said that you wanted to talk to him. He was actually…really quiet the whole car ride home. Did you two have a conversation in the car while I went back inside to get your phone?" Ian asked.

"If I knew then I wouldn't be calling you asking what happened, would I?" She snapped.

"Shit, I'm sorry Tessa," Ian sighed. "I guess I wasn't thinking. You just seemed so sure and so…happy."

"Yeah well, don't feel too bad. I plan on giving Sam a ton of shit for abandoning me out there."

"Do you want me to come over to make sure he leaves?" He asked.

She sighed. "No. I have to deal with this."

"Okay," he said. "Call me if you need anything."

"A time machine to re-do last night," she mumbled which caused Ian to laugh.

"Bye Tessa."

"Bye Ian," she said. She hung up her phone and held it against her chin while she thought. This was why she didn't go drinking with Sam. She always ended up doing something stupid, and sleeping with Lip was definitely stupid.

Sighing, Tessa stood from her spot on the floor and walked out of the kitchen and into her bathroom. She washed her face and brushed her teeth. She contemplated taking a shower but didn't want to risk Lip waking up and joining her. Tessa ran a hand through her dark hair and left the bathroom.

On her way out she ran into Lip's naked chest. Looking up at him, she could see that he was still sleepy, but fairly aware of his surroundings. Perhaps he had been unnerved when he had realized Tessa wasn't in bed with him.

"Uh…hi," Tessa said awkwardly, backing up and pressing her back against the bathroom door. "Do you need to use the bathroom?"

He shook his head. "I was looking for you," he answered.

"Oh," she said while making an 'O' shape with her mouth and keeping it that way for a moment.

There was an awkward silence between the two. Tessa could feel Lip just looking at her and she was avoiding returning his gaze. "So I'm not really sure what happened last night…"

"You're not?" Lip asked with a smirk. "Judging from how you woke up, I'm pretty sure you can take an educated guess."

She frowned. "Lip," she began. "I don't remember last night at all. So if we got back together or something, I'm sorry but we can't."

Now it was Lip's turn to frown. They hadn't exactly gotten back together but sleeping together had definitely been Tessa's idea. He had just wanted to make sure she got into bed alright (even though she had been the one to insist he bring her home), but Tessa had been the one to go off on how much she missed him and missed being with him.

"This was all your idea, Tessa," Lip said slowly.

She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. She really wished she remembered last night.

Sighing, Lip took her hand and dragged her back into the bedroom. He sat down on the bed and waited for her to sit down next to him. Once she was sure that he just wanted to talk, she sat down next to him to see what he might say.

"What's the last thing you remember?" he asked.

Tessa bit her lip. "Going to the bar with Sam. But I remember seeing Ian at the bar, so I called him and he explained some of it to me. He told me about you two showing up and bringing me home, and how I had wanted you to bring me home." She still couldn't believe that she had insisted on Lip bringing her home.

He nodded his head. "You don't remember any conversations we had?" Lip asked. He wished she remembered the conversation they had in the car while Ian had ran back into the bar.

"No," she said, shaking her head. "Why? What did we talk about?"

Lip contemplated telling her but decided against it. Tessa wasn't handling the fact that they had slept together well; he couldn't imagine how she would take the news that she had practically told him she loved him. "Uh, nothing important," he said.

"You're lying," Tessa mumbled.

Lip didn't refute her claim, but he didn't say anything either. After a moment of silence he opened his mouth to begin his story. "I helped you up to your apartment. I was just going to make sure you got into bed okay and then I was going to leave. As much as I wanted to finish our conversation from this morning, I knew it wasn't going to happen while you were wasted."

 _Flashback_

 _Lip kept his arm around Tessa's waist as he tried to walk her down the hall to her bedroom. She had lost her heels in the car but that hadn't made going up the stairs any easier. He deposited her onto her bed and told her that he would be right back._

 _He walked into the kitchen to grab her some water and some advil since she would likely have a killer hangover in the morning. However, when Lip returned to Tessa's room he almost dropped the glass of water. Tessa had just finished taking her dress off. He almost forgot how much he loved looking at her body._

 _Clearly his throat, Lip placed the water and pills on her dresser. "Uh here. Make sure to take these." He turned to leave but Tessa was quick to grab his wrist._

" _Where are you going?" She asked with a frown._

" _Home," Lip responded. Although, he lack of clothing wasn't making it easy on him._

" _I want you to stay," Tessa said, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him closer._

 _He should have told her he couldn't stay. He should have told her that she was drunk and had no idea what she was actually doing. But Lip was a little selfish and he was basking in the moment of finally having Tessa back in his arms._

 _Lip sighed and leaned his forehead against her own. He closed his eyes as he tried to muster up the courage to walk away from this. It was the right thing to do._

" _I miss you, Lip."_

 _The sound of her saying his name like_ that _made his eyes open and he found her biting her lip. "Damnit, Tessa," he mumbled._

" _You've been trying to get me back and now's your chance," she said as she began to pepper kisses along his jawline._

 _Lip caved and took off the remaining pieces of clothing standing between him and Tessa._

 _End Flashback_

Tessa stared at the blank space in front of her with her eyes wide. She could not believe she had said all those things to Lip. She didn't remember any of it!

"Tessa?" Lip's voice pulled her from her thoughts.

She kept staring with wide eyes but she made a humming noise to let him know she had heard him.

"Look, I'm sorry I didn't go home last night like I should have, but I don't regret what we did. All those things you said to me were exactly what I wanted to hear. How could I not cave?" Lip asked. He ran a hand through his hair and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

"I know," she muttered. She pulled a knee up to her chest and hugged it close. "I obviously still care about you, even though I've tried to stop those feelings, but I just can't do this again, Lip. You still have Mandy hanging around and even though you told Karen to back off, I doubt that she will. I just can't always be wondering what you're doing when we're not together."

"I'm getting rid of Mandy too, I swear," Lip said. "I just told Karen and hadn't gotten that far. Mandy's a little more…volatile."

Tessa bit the inside of her cheek. She thought both girls could be volatile, but apparently Mandy Milkovich was to be feared more than Karen Jackson.

"You're going to college," Tessa pointed out.

"I think I'm staying close to home. Everyone needs me here," Lip said.

She finally looked at him and shook her head. "You have to go to M.I.T., Lip. The school is amazing and you can accomplish so much there."

He shrugged. "But I'm needed here."

"I think they can manage," Tessa pointed out.

"I can't just abandon my family. It's not that easy."

She sighed and rested her chin on her knee. "I don't know Lip. I need to think about everything. Regardless of where you go to college, there will be a lot of girls there and I know you'll be tempted." She shrugged. "I can't handle that anxiety."

Lip didn't say anything because he knew she was right. As much as he cared about Tessa, he knew that not having her around but seeing tons of college girls wearing revealing clothes would make him fall into his old ways.

At least he wasn't trying to lie to her. Tessa took that as him trying to change. She didn't want to change him as a person; she just wanted him to be faithful. It wasn't like she was asking for the world.

"Maybe you should just go," Tessa mumbled. "I'm not feeling very well." It wasn't a complete lie. She did have a hangover but it wasn't unbearable. She just was feeling a little sick thinking about having to deal with her feelings for Lip and what last night had meant.

Lip huffed in frustration and got up from the bed. He grabbed his clothes off the floor and went to leave. Before he disappeared through the door he turned to Tessa one more time. "You know, I still care about you and I'm going to keep trying to get your trust back."

She clenched her jaw but didn't say anything. What could she say? Lip left and she fell backwards onto the bed. "I'm never drinking again," she mumbled.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Tessa lay on the couch after taking a shower. Her hair was wet and it was seeping into the fabric of the couch as well. She was flicking through the channels until she saw someone she thought she recognized.

She went back to the news channel and watched as Frank talked on the television. Was Frank pretending to be gay? Clearly this was one of his new schemes and Tessa rolled her eyes. She couldn't believe him.

Grabbing her phone, she searched for Fiona's number and dialed it.

"Hey!" Fiona greeted her. "I just got out of work. What's up?"

"Oh the temp job," Tessa said. "How'd it go?"

"Great. I actually liked it there. It's a really nice place and the boss is cool. I'm hoping to turn it into a permanent position but we'll see."

Tessa nodded her head. "That's awesome. You deserve a stable job like that."

Fiona laughed. "Did you need something?"

"Oh!" Tessa exclaimed. She chuckled. "Uh Frank is on my television right now talking about gay rights and how he deserves the same rights as everyone else. Fi, I think he's claiming to be gay in order to get money or something."

Tessa couldn't see Fiona but she bet that her mouth was hanging open in disbelief. "Are you kidding me?" She asked.

Tessa chuckled. "I wish. I didn't believe it at first when I was flicking through the channels but he's there. Nice and loud, per usual."

"Fuckin' Frank," Fiona swore.

"Uh, I actually have something else to tell you," Tessa said.

"Uh oh," Fiona said. "I'm not really liking your news today."

Sighing, Tessa went on and told Fiona everything that had happened last night with Lip and Ian showing up at the bar and then Lip bringing her home and them sleeping together. She summarized their conversation and let out a big breath when she was done with her speech. "I'm screwed," Tessa swore.

"Jesus," Fiona mumbled. She had no idea what to make of the whole fiasco. She was horrified at what Lip had done to Tessa, but she had loved the two of them together. She still thought Tessa was good for Lip. But she wasn't going to tell one of her best friends to give her brother another chance when she knew there was a chance Lip would sleep around at college.

"Tell me about it," Tessa huffed. "I'm an awful drunk."

Fiona laughed. "Okay I really want to see you drunk though. You sound adorable."

"Hey!" Tessa snapped. "First of all, I'm always adorable. Second, you should be freaking out with me." She sighed and ran a hand through her wet hair. "Or you know, I could just avoid him until he goes off for college. That could work."

"Right," Fiona scoffed. "For three whole months? I highly doubt you could do that. You couldn't even avoid him for a few weeks!"

She felt defeated when she realized that Fiona was right. "Well then maybe I should just move to California!" She declared.

"Don't be so dramatic," Fiona said.

"I'm not!" Tessa exclaimed. "How the hell am I supposed to get over someone when I see them all the damn time?"

Fiona sighed. "I have no idea," she said. "Sorry I'm not much help. I'm sorta distracted right now. Debs skipped school and stayed at Sheila's today for a code pink."

Tessa raised a brow. "Code pink?" she asked.

"Oh," Fiona said, forgetting that Tessa had no idea what their code pink meant. "We used it when Monica would have her down days."

"I see," Tessa said, pursing her lips. "Well I'll let you go make sure everything is okay there. Text me when you figure everything out?"

Fiona agreed and the two hung up the phone. Tessa tossed her phone onto the table and glanced at the clock. She had a fairly early shift tomorrow at the diner. Her face was healed for the most part but she still had to have Meg "clear" her so that she could work at the club. Maybe she would just bury herself in work at the club and the diner so she wouldn't have time to deal with Lip? Yeah…that could work.

 _Once this story is finished, would anyone be interested in any outtakes? I don't have any written but I have gotten a few PMs of people wanting to see the fight Tessa got in after learning about Lip cheating on her, or even the conversation between Tessa and Ian. Anyway, tell me what you guys thought! Reviews get faster updates._


	30. THIRTY

_A:N/ In case I wasn't clear, this story isn't really "ending". Permanent Wound will be completed but Tessa's journey will continue into a sequel (starting in season four), which will be titled Everlasting Scars. When I mentioned the outtakes, I meant for once Permanent Wound ended and while I'm starting Everlasting Scars. Also, please note that this chapter is primarily in Lip's POV (for specific reasons)._

"She was so happy when she got that text from you. She knew you were texting to make up. You should've seen her light up."

"Text?" Lip asked, confusion on his face. He had never texted Karen asking to meet up. He hadn't seen his phone since yesterday afternoon.

"The night of the accident, when she came to meet you," Sheila replied. "I honestly think that she was so excited, she just forgot to look both ways."

He felt his stomach drop. Something was not right. "Do you have Karen's phone here?"

"Um…" Sheila began to look around. "It could be with her things." She walked across the room and opened a drawer, revealing a plastic bag. "I think, um…"

Sheila walked away, attempting to regain her composure while Lip began to rifle through the bag. Finally he found it amongst her bloody clothes and opened it up to look at her text messages.

There it was, staring right back at him. He had never sent this text. He checked the time stamp and tried to think about what he had been doing. Mandy had actually come over to get the rest of her stuff, and Lip had gone outside to smoke a cigarette, not wanting to hang around her. His head had still been reeling from his morning conversation with Tessa.

He frowned and handed the phone back to Sheila. "I uh…I gotta go," he said. "But let me know if there are any changes."

Lip quickly walked out of Karen's hospital room and looked around for a phone he could use. The nurses and support staff were using all of the phones at the secretary desks. He finally found an empty room and went inside to use the phone there.

He dialed Ian's number, hoping his brother would pick up.

"What?" Ian asked. He sounded like he was in a bad mood, especially if he was answering the phone in that manner given that he didn't recognize the number.

"Ian, it's Lip. Can you give me Tessa's number? I don't know what happened to my phone and I don't know it off the top of my head."

There was a small pause at the other end. "Why?"

Lip sighed in frustration. He had too many thoughts rushing through his head to play twenty questions with Ian. "I just need to talk to her," he snapped.

"Okay…" Ian said slowly. "Yeah hold on."

Lip waited impatiently for his brother to find the number in his phone. Finally Ian found it and read it off to Lip who quickly jotted it down on a piece of hospital paper.

After hanging up with Ian he quickly dialed Tessa's number, hoping that she would pick up. Unfortunately it just continued to ring and ring until it went to her voicemail.

"Jesus, Tessa. Please call my house and let someone know you're okay when you get this," Lip said and he hung up the phone.

He made his way out of the empty hospital room and down the hallway. He was just going to head over there to see if she was home. He might chew her out for not answering his phone call, but at least he would know she's okay.

"Fuck," he muttered under his breath. Tessa had changed the locks on her door right after they had broken up. Now he had no way of getting into her apartment if she was in there and hurt. A million scenarios were running through his mind and none of them were good. He would have to head home first and see if she had given a spare key to Fiona.

But Fiona had her big-time job now and he doubted he would be able to get a hold of her while she was there. Then again, if he called and told them it was her brother and it was a family emergency then it wasn't like they could hold that against her.

He got on the city bus and just stared down at the phone. There was still blood on the phone and the screen was slightly cracked, but he could still see it. Meet me at the park. A text he had never sent, but someone had. It had to have been Mandy. Mandy wanted Karen out of the way and Karen had been antagonizing Mandy at school. He just didn't know how far Mandy was willing to go to get Lip to herself.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Lip stared at the ceiling while he lay in bed. Since he was unable to get in contact with Tessa his mind was reeling with possibilities, none of which were good. He had even stopped by her place and no one had answered. Hell, he sat outside her door for an hour waiting to see if she would show up.

When he returned home only Debbie had been there. He had no idea what to do but he was exhausted. He left a note downstairs asking Fiona to try and find Tessa when she got home but he wasn't sure when that would be since he was pretty sure he heard her mention a softball game for work tonight.

The next morning he woke up and quickly ran downstairs to see if he could catch Fiona but he had missed his sister. Lip had asked Debbie if she had seen or heard from Tessa but the red head had not.

Ian had been moping around the house since finding out about Mickey getting married to the chick he had knocked up. He had told him all about his dad catching Ian and Mickey together and then making Mickey fuck some girl in front of Ian. Apparently Mickey had knocked her up and he was getting married to her. Ian was a wreck and Lip felt bad for his brother, but he didn't know what to say or do in a situation like this. He tried telling Ian to stay away from the wedding but he knew his brother wasn't going to take his advice.

The next morning, Lip ran downstairs as soon as he heard someone moving about. No doubt it was Fiona, since he knew she was leaving for an overnight camping trip with her work.

"Fiona?" Lip called out.

She was rushing around in the kitchen trying to get last minute things together. She looked up when she saw Lip and smiled. "Hey! I haven't seen you in a few days. What's up?" She asked. Fiona continued to go about her business but kept her ears open to anything her brother might say.

"Have you heard from Tessa?" He asked.

Fiona looked at him with a confused expression. "No…why?" She asked.

He ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "Shit!" He cursed.

"Lip what's going on?" Fiona was now concerned.

"I have no idea where she is. She isn't answering my calls and she didn't answer when I went to check on her at the apartment. I just…I just have a bad feeling something isn't right," he explained. He wasn't about to tell Fiona his theory about Mandy doing something to hurt Tessa.

"Lip," Fiona began. "Tessa went away for the weekend with Sam." She was confused that her brother didn't know but she didn't know the status of his relationship with Tessa at the moment. If she was still pissed at him then why would she bother telling him?

Lip clenched his jaw. He felt like he wanted to explode. Fiona knew this whole time and he had been worrying for nothing. "But why isn't she answering her phone?" He asked, pointing out a thought that had only just occurred to him. Even if she had gone away with Sam, that shouldn't have prevented her from at least returning his call to tell him that she was okay.

Fiona shrugged. "I don't know, Lip. But I'm sure she's fine. She should be back this evening or tomorrow morning, I can't remember." She brushed aside her brother's worry and continued to run around to get things ready.

He's not sure what he did between his conversation with Fiona and her announcing that she was leaving for her camping trip. He did get up to say goodbye and Fiona told him to have fun at the wedding, if he was still going.

The wedding. He had forgotten all about it. At least, he had for a moment. He had been so caught up in finding Tessa that he had forgotten about dealing with Mandy. She thought they were just in a fight and she thought that they would work it out; she had said as much to him when she had picked her stuff up the other day. Lip hadn't said a thing, not wanting to make the situation any worse than it already was.

Later in the day he found himself sitting in the downstairs bathroom trying to call Kevin to get advice about Mandy. She was driving him up the wall and the more she tried to cling to him, the more he thought she had done something to Tessa as well.

"You okay in there?"

Mandy's voice made him jump and he ran a hand through his hair in frustration. Kev had told him to back away slowly. He had told him to make her think it was her idea, since she was so crazy. But Lip had no idea how he was going to pull this one off. "Yeah," he replied.

"You sure?" Mandy asked.

"Yeah, I'm just, uh…" Lip scrambled to think of an excuse. "A little backed up." It was a valid one. He was, after all, hiding in the bathroom.

"For forty-five minutes?" She asked, huffing in annoyance.

"Yup."

Mandy scratched at the door with her fingernail. "Can I get you anything?"

"No, please. I'm…I'm great. Okay? I'm fine. Thank you," Lip snapped. He didn't know how long he could keep up this charade.

"I…I hate my dress," Mandy said. "I look like a drag queen. You think Fiona would mind if I borrowed one of hers?"

Lip rolled her eyes. "Yes," he huffed.

"She'd mind, or she'd let me?" Mandy asked.

"Mind!" Lip snapped.

He ran a hand through his hair again, almost ready to pull it out. Suddenly the door burst open and he quickly stood up from his spot on the toilet. Mandy looked furious that he wasn't actually using the restroom.

"What's going on?" She demanded.

"I've got a lot of stuff on my mind," he said. It was the complete truth.

"And you can't talk to me about it?" Mandy looked hurt and if he didn't know that she had hit Karen with her car and likely done something to Tessa, he would have felt bad.

"No." He kept a straight face. He was not going to show her any emotion. He had to make sure she knew, without telling her, that he didn't feel that way about her.

"What time are you gonna come tonight?" She asked, attempting to change the topic.

Lip sighed. "I don't know, late. I got some shit I gotta do."

"At Karen's?" She snapped.

"Errands."

"You know what? Don't bother coming!" She yelled and slammed the bathroom door in his face.

He exhaled and sat back down on the toilet, leaning his head back and staring at the ceiling. He had to go to Karen's to help Sheila. But how was he supposed to do that when he still didn't know if Tessa was okay? If he weren't so afraid of Mandy snapping, he probably would have asked her about what she had done to Tessa.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Lip stormed into the wedding and spotted Mandy right away. She was dancing with a tall black guy. Lip couldn't have cared less. Hopefully she was his problem now. But he was seeing red as everything was crashing down upon him; the realization of how fucked up Karen's life was; the realization that something could be horribly wrong with Tessa.

Mandy turned, laughing and smiled when she saw Lip. "Couldn't stay away, could you?" She asked. She attacked his mouth with her own and Lip promptly pushed her away.

"You ruined Karen's life!" He yelled at her. Lip grabbed her arm and pulled her away. He didn't care if everyone was watching. He didn't care if he was going against Kev's advice. "You're a jealous, demented cunt, Mandy! Seriously! All right? We're done."

"I did it for you, you prick!" Mandy yelled back.

Not that he doubted Mandy hitting Karen, but at least now he definitely knew.

"I did everything for you, but you're so fucking blind!" She screamed. "You know what, don't sweat it. We were done before you got here," she sneered.

"This is Kenyatta. He's my date. I just swallowed his load in the bathroom. Can you taste it?" She asked, stumbling slightly as she leaned up against Kenyatta.

Lip went to yell again but Ian came over and slapped his hand down on his shoulder. "He did it," he said. "He got married. To a woman." Ian was clearly drunk.

He wasn't in the mood to deal with his drunken brother. He needed to know what happened to Tessa.

"I told you not to come here, okay?"

"You try sitting on your ass while the person you love – no I'm sorry, the person you've been fucking gets married to some random commie skank!" Ian yelled. "Fuckin' commie!" He screamed, throwing his cup onto the dance floor.

Lip pulled his brother away, trying to hold him back from doing anything stupid. Well, anything stupider than already showing up to the wedding in the first place.

Before he completely removed his brother from the premise, he turned to glare back at Mandy. "I swear to god, if you did anything to Tessa, I will make your life a living hell, and not even Ian will forgive you for what you did," Lip seethed.

Mandy's face remained unreadable, which meant Lip was unable to tell if she had done something or not. That was what scared him the most.

 _A:N/ WHERE'S TESSA?! She may have gone away with Sam, but could Mandy still have done something to her? Gotten to her before she left? Why isn't she answering her phone? (And no, it's not because it's Lip and she doesn't want to talk to him). This was an evil chapter, I know. What do you guys think is going on with Tessa?_


	31. THIRTY-ONE

_I meant to have this written sooner, but I was fighting migraines all last week and the week before._

Tessa was exhausted. Her weekend with Sam had been amazing; exactly what she needed. Hell, she hadn't even been all that upset when her phone had died and she realized she forgot her charger. It meant that she could focus on what she was doing and not on any drama that was going on back home.

Not that she hadn't been concerned for the Gallaghers, but Tessa had been in desperate need for a little R and R. When Sam had showed up at her house saying that they were taking a weekend trip, Tessa had been surprised but she hadn't protested.

She had quickly texted Fiona saying that she was taking off for the weekend, not wanting the mama bear of the Gallagher clan freaking out on her, and had left with Sam.

They had gone to the Lincoln Park Zoo, upon Tessa's insistence, and the Shedd Aquarium upon Sam's. The girls hadn't been much for the boring museums, but had always loved the animals. They had done some bars at nights but their days had been filled with the two animal museums. That was the only time Tessa had been bummed about her phone dying. She had no pictures but Sam had taken plenty and had promised to send Tessa all the pictures once her phone was charged again.

She made her way into her apartment and dropped her bag by the door. Once she found her phone she went into her bedroom and found her charger and plugged it in. She wanted Sam to send her the pictures immediately. Knowing it would take a few minutes, Tessa walked out of her bedroom to grab her bag. She plopped it on the couch and began to take out her dirty clothes so she could toss them in her hamper. Once that was done she brought her almost empty bag back into her room and tossed it into her open closet.

Falling down onto her bed, she picked up her phone and saw dozens of missed calls and voicemails. There were a handful from numbers she didn't recognize, but the others all belonged to someone in the Gallagher clan. Text messages started popping up but they were coming in too quickly for her to read.

Sighing, she put her phone down and grabbed her keys. She didn't have the patience to sit here and wait for her phone to stop spazzing out. She was just going to head over to the Gallagher's house to see what the big freak out had been about. Fiona knew where she had been. She had relayed the message to the others, hadn't she? Even if she hadn't, there shouldn't have been any reason for them to be trying to contact her _that_ desperately.

Tessa walked into the Gallagher's house and saw Debbie sitting in the living room. "Tessa!" Debbie said with a grin. She got up and ran over to the brunette, engulfing her in a hug.

She chuckled and hugged Debbie back. "What's up, Debbs?" She asked. "Where is everyone?"

"Uh. Fiona is already at work. I'm not sure where Ian is but Lip is upstairs sleeping. I think he's getting his diploma today. Well, at least that's what Fiona said." She shrugged and went back to putting her things in her backpack.

Tessa nodded her head and glanced around. "Do you know if Fiona was trying to get ahold of me this weekend or something?" Tessa asked.

Debbie shook her head. "Not that I know of. We went camping with her work. It was so much fun!" Debbie gushed.

Now Tessa was confused. Clearly nothing crazy had happened, so why the insane amount of calls? "You'll have to tell me about it later," Tessa said slowly. She was lost in her own thoughts, not really paying attention to what was going on around her.

She turned and walked up the stairs, wondering if it had been Lip who had been trying to get a hold of her. But from what she had seen, she hadn't noticed his number popping up at all.

Lip's door was open but when she peeked inside he wasn't there. His room was a mess, and Tessa sighed, turning around to see if he had wondered into Ian's room for something.

The bathroom door opened and Lip walked out and almost ran Tessa over. Once he realized it was her, his face became a mixture of emotions. Relief. Anger. Surprise. Happiness. Frustration.

Tessa didn't understand why she was seeing all those emotions on his face. She raised an eyebrow and shot him a questioning look. "Do you know why I have a million missed calls on my phone?"

Lip didn't know whether he wanted to kill her or kiss her. He was relieved that she was okay but she was so oblivious to the stress he had gone through worrying about her. "Why weren't you answering your fucking phone?!" He snapped.

Tessa jumped, not expecting him to be so angry. "What the fuck?" She snapped back. "First of all, my phone died and I forgot my charger at home. Second of all, why does it fucking matter? Fiona knew I was going away for the weekend and it's not like I report to you every day." Now Tessa was getting pissed off. Lip was acting like it was the end of the world.

He closed his eyes and attempted to control his breathing. "I didn't know if you were okay," he said slowly.

Once again thrown off by his change in tone, Tessa shot him a confused look. "Why wouldn't I be okay?"

Lip ran a frustrated hand through his hair. He grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her into his room. He sat down on his bed and waited for her to join him. After a moment, and a roll of her eyes, Tessa finally sat down.

"Mandy hit Karen with her car the other night," Lip explained, his voice low.

Her eyebrows shot up. "What?!" She gasped. "Is she okay?" She knew it was probably a stupid question, but it just sort of came out before she could think about it.

He shook his head. "No. She can't form new memories. She just isn't…Karen anymore." He ran a hand over his face and Tessa frowned.

Had the situation not been so morbid, she would have made a joke about Karen not being Karen probably being a good thing, but she knew that would only upset Lip even more.

"Mandy ruined her fucking life," he snapped. He looked over at Tessa out of the corner of his eye. "And I thought she did something to you too."

Now it all began to make sense. Mandy had tried to kill Karen and Lip had been worried that Mandy had tried to do something to hurt her. Now she felt bad for giving him shit and not caring about why he was so pissed at her.

"Lip," she said with a sigh. Tessa reached over and grabbed his hand, giving him a squeeze. "I'm fine, okay?" She attempted to reassure him. "I just forgot my charger at home before I left with Sam. But I'm back and I'm fine, okay?"

He held onto her hand but stared at the wall in front of him. He didn't really acknowledge her words. It was clear that she was okay, but that hadn't stopped him from freaking out all weekend. He wasn't sure if he would be able to remove the horrible images from his brain, imagining all the horrible things that could have gone wrong.

"I just…" Lip made a frustrated noise. "I just snapped when I thought Mandy had done something to hurt you."

Tessa offered him a small smile, touched to see that he cared. She appreciated it but she couldn't quiet the little voice in the back of her mind that told her that none of this would have happened if he hadn't slept with Mandy in the first place.

"I'm fine. I promise," Tessa said. She leaned over and pressed a kiss to his cheek, letting him know that she was really there and that she was really okay.

Before she could pull too far away, Lip's free hand grabbed the back of her neck and pulled her towards him. His lips crashed against hers in a rough kiss. The kiss was urgent and needy. Lip kissed her like he never thought he was going to see her again, because that's what he had thought almost all weekend.

Instead of pulling away, Tessa let herself melt into the kiss. It was becoming far too easy to let herself fall back into the habit of kissing Lip. She let her free hand rest on the side of his face without even thinking twice about it.

He untangled his hand from hers and rested it on her hip. Lip gently pushed her back, mouth still attached to hers, so that she was now lying down on his bed with his body resting slightly on top of hers.

They stayed like that for a few moments, kissing one another and letting their hands roam as they pleased. It wasn't until they heard a voice that the two parted from one another. Once Tessa realized it was Debbie who spoke, she pushed Lip off of her and quickly stood. She did not need Debbie walking in on her and Lip making out.

Debbie opened the door and gave her brother and Tessa a confused look. "What were you two doing?" She asked, glancing between the two of them. Tessa was standing and Lip was still on his bed, rolled over onto his side from Tessa pushing him off of her.

"Talking," Tessa said quickly. "Did you need something, Debs?"

"Oh uh. Carl didn't tell me the bus was here and now it left. Can you give me a ride to school? Please?" Debbie asked.

Of course Carl didn't tell Debbie about the bus. She didn't know why Debbie had relied on him in the first place. "Sure," she said with a soft smile.

Debbie grinned and left the room. Tessa began to follow the younger Gallagher, but Lip caught her wrist before she could get too far.

"Tessa," he warned. "We need to talk about what's going on between us."

She sighed. "Haven't we though?" She asked. "I've pointed out that you're going to college and the issues that come with that. What more is there to discuss?"

Lip let out a frustrated huff. He opened his mouth to begin to argue but Tessa held up a hand to silence him. "I have to bring Debbie to school. We'll deal with this later."

She didn't give him a chance to grab her wrist or say anything else. She left his room and went downstairs. She didn't see Debbie so she assumed she was already out by the car. Tessa left the house and saw the red head leaning against her car, waiting for Tessa.

The two got in the car and Tessa took off towards the middle school.

"Are you coming over later?" Debbie asked, after Tessa had finally found a radio station she liked.

"I don't know. Why?"

"We're having a graduation party for Lip. He's graduating early but won't walk or anything since they don't have the ceremony until all the other seniors graduate," Debbie explained. "I don't think Fiona told him yet, so I didn't ask while we were inside."

Tessa nodded her head and thought about what Debbie was saying. She forgot that Lip was graduating a semester early, but that was only because he had failed several classes and been held back. Lip seemed to want to talk, which she did not want to do, but if there were a lot of people around then he would be distracted and maybe she could enjoy the night with her friends.

"Maybe," Tessa said slowly. "I'll have to talk to Fiona."

"Well, do you have to work tonight?" she questioned.

Tessa glanced over at Debbie, raising an eyebrow at how Debbie was practically interrogating her.

"No," she said with a chuckle. "I just got back from my trip."

"Then what's the problem?" Debbie asked.

"Why are you so concerned with this?" Tessa shot back, growing slightly miffed with the girl.

Debbie sighed, deflated at her inability to get details from Tessa. "I just feel like you're not hanging around as much anymore now that you and Lip aren't together anymore," she confessed. "But when I saw you two in his room, it made me happy because I almost thought you two might be working it out."

Tessa sighed. She should have known. "Debbie," she began. "I'm not avoiding you guys because of Lip. I've had work, honestly. And I've talked to Lip a few times and we're being civil towards one another, so you don't have anything to worry about there, okay?"

Debbie sighed.

"Okay?" Tessa posed her question again.

"Okay," she said slowly, exhaling a second sigh.

They rode in silence for ten minutes before Debbie spoke up again. "Do you think you guys will ever get back together?"

Tessa exhaled through her nose, chuckling at Debbie's inability to give up. "I don't know Debs. Probably not. He's going to college and I'm staying here," she explained.

Tessa pulled in front of the school and had never been so thankful to get out of a conversation with Debbie.

Debbie unbuckled her seatbelt and picked up her backpack from where it had been resting at her feet. She got out of the car but before she closed the door she poked her head back in. "I just…had this dream where you and Lip were married and you were my aunt and it was really nice. I just always want you around."

The red head closed the door before Tessa could say anything but she didn't think she would have had the ability to speak even if she wanted to. The sound of someone honking from behind her pulled her out of her thoughts and she drove off back towards her apartment.

Tessa began to bite at her fingernails while she thought about Debbie's words the whole way home. She didn't know how to handle this one. Tessa knew she would have to talk to Fiona about this. She had told Debbie several times that she would never leave them, regardless of her relationship status with Lip. But apparently Debbie didn't take her words too seriously and now it was causing her to have dreams about her brother and Tessa.

 _A:N/ So I meant for this to be longer but Kayla convinced me to post it since it had been so long. Again, I apologize. I'm going to a new neurologist so hopefully that helps._


	32. THIRTY-TWO

_A:N/ I've been struggling for MONTHS on how I wanted to end this story. Or rather, how I wanted to handle the season three finale. I really haven't figured anything out, so I'm just going to write and see what happens._

After dropping Debbie off at school, Tessa went home and decided to rest for the day. She texted Fiona and told her that she was back but she hadn't heard anything from her before she fell asleep.

She woke up a few hours later and saw she had a missed text from Fiona, asking her to come over for Lip's graduation party later that night. She quickly showered and started to get dressed when she heard her cell phone ring. The noise scared her since she hadn't heard it go off all weekend.

Tessa picked up the phone and saw that it was Fiona. "Hey, Fi."

"Tessa," Fiona said with a sigh of relief. "Frank's in the hospital. Think you can come pick us up? Lip's already there with him. I would take the L but…"

She shook her head, dismissing Fiona's concerns. "Yeah, I'll be right there."

She pulled on a pair of jeans and a shirt before pulling a hoodie over her head. Tessa tucked her phone into her back pocket and snatched up her bag on her way out the door.

Tessa rushed to the Gallagher's house as quickly as she could and instead of going inside, she honked the horn. Almost five seconds later they began to pour out of the house.

Fiona got into the passenger seat while Debbie and Carl climbed into the back. Once Tessa knew the kids were buckled she took off towards the hospital.

"Where's Liam?" Tessa asked on the ride over.

"Sheila's watching him for me," Fiona said. She could see how distracted her friend was so she decided to keep any further questions or comments to herself.

When they finally got to the hospital they went inside and Tessa followed a determined Fiona. She stormed up to the secretarial desk. "Hi, I'm Fiona Gallagher. My father Frank Gallagher was just admitted."

The male nurse looked at his computer. "Let me check."

Tessa stood behind Fiona with her hand on Carl's shoulder, while Debbie stood directly next to her older sister.

"What's wrong with him?" Debbie asked.

Fiona sighed. "You mean this time? I wouldn't worry, it's Frank."

"I bet he has cancer," Carl said.

"Only if there's money it in," Fiona scoffed.

"First left, fourth door on the right," the male nurse told them.

They all began to walk away but before they could get through a door, Fiona turned to look at her younger siblings. "Stay here, okay?"

"What?!" Debbie demanded. "No!"

"Yes," Fiona insisted. "I'll tell you as soon as I know anything."

Tessa pursed her lips, knowing that it was best to let Fiona and Debbie hash this one out.

"No, I'm sick of you treating me like a little baby."

"Me too," Carl piped up.

Tessa had to admit that she was surprised to hear anything from Carl. He usually was more passive in these types of confrontations.

"Okay. Go wait in the lobby. Now!" Fiona snapped.

"I'll stay with them," Tessa quickly said before Fiona could even ask. She shot her friend a thankful look before she disappeared behind the doors.

"Sorry guys," Tessa said, walking over to sit down. "I know you want to know what's going on, but if it's just because Frank was being stupid, she doesn't want you worrying over nothing."

She didn't get a response from either of them and she nodded her head. "Okay then," she muttered to herself. She looked up and realized they hadn't even followed her. She sighed and saw that they both had their faces pressed against the glass.

Tessa rose from her spot and tried pulling them away but stopped when she saw Fiona talking with a doctor. It didn't look too good and she locked eyes with Fiona for a moment.

Fiona disappeared into Frank's room and she was finally able to usher Carl and Debbie away from the door.

"She'll be out to get you soon, I promise."

A moment later all three of them looked up to see a wasted looking Lip stumbling through the door. "Jesus Christ," Tessa mumbled, rolling her eyes.

His siblings quickly got up and ran to him, asking what had happened and if Frank was okay. Lip said that Frank was fine and said that he would be home soon. It took him a moment to notice that Tessa had stood from her seat.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, his voice groggy from how much he had been throwing up.

"I like to hang around hospitals," she deadpanned. Tessa walked closer to him and scrunched up her nose. "You reek."

Debbie scrunched up her nose in disgust. "You do smell, Lip."

"What do you guys think? Make him ride the L with the rest of the smelly guys?" Tessa asked, looking down at Carl and Debbie.

Carl grinned but Debbie didn't really pay Tessa much attention. She was too preoccupied looking at her older brother who looked like he had been hit by a train.

"Can we just go home, please?" Lip asked, running a hand through his hair.

Tessa sighed and they all began to walk out of the hospital. She told Carl and Debbie to bring Lip to the car and that she would be there in a moment. In the meantime she stopped at a vending machine and got a bottled water for Lip.

When she got to her car in the parking garage she noticed them all standing outside of her car. Lip looked like he was barely able to stand and Debbie had her arms crossed. "You forgot to give us the keys," she scoffed.

Tessa rolled her eyes. "Well sorry," she said.

She unlocked the car and everyone climbed in. She handed the bottled water to Lip who thanked her but just let it sit in his lap. Not wanting to mother him, she ignored his choice to rehydrate. If he wanted to have a worse hangover, then he could certainly be her guest.

The ride back to the Gallagher house was silent and Tessa parked in front once they arrived. She opened the door for Carl since he was on her side and she watched Debbie help Lip get out of the car. When they got inside she saw the decorations they had put up for Lip's graduation party.

"Take that shit down," he muttered, rubbing his eyes and heading upstairs.

Carl and Debbie exchanged sad looks with one another. They were clearly disappointed that they weren't going to have the party but they began to take down the decorations like their brother had requested.

Tessa followed Lip upstairs and found him collapsed on his bed. She sat down on the edge and looked around his room. She had just been there this morning but she could have sworn it had gotten a little messier.

"So what happened?" she asked.

She got no response from Lip and she finally decided she wasn't going to sit here and probe him. Tessa got up and left, closing the door behind her.

Tessa went downstairs and found Sheila in the kitchen. She was putting the food away and she smiled at Tessa.

"Oh hello!" She said cheerfully. "I'm Sheila. I don't believe we've ever met."

Ah, so this was Sheila. She knew that Sheila was Karen's mother and had been under the impression that she had agoraphobia but maybe she had overcome that fear.

"I'm Tessa," she said, offering the woman with a smile. She began to help Sheila put the food away while Carl and Debbie took the decorations down. She wasn't sure how much time had passed but eventually she heard Fiona enter through the back door.

"What's going on?" Fiona asked.

"Oh, hey!" Sheila said. "I fed Liam and put him down a half an hour ago."

"Thanks," Fiona muttered, looking around.

"How's daddy?" Debbie asked, rushing into the kitchen.

"Is he okay?" Carl asked.

Fiona sighed and took off her coat. She looked exhausted. "That's up to him," she said.

"What does that mean?" Debbie questioned.

"We should be at the hospital helping him," Carl offered.

"He needs to help himself," Fiona muttered, but Carl and Debbie had heard her anyway.

"What?" Debbie asked in confusion.

Fiona turned around after she put her coat away. "What's up with taking down the decorations?" She asked.

"Lip told us to," Carl confessed

"No one feels much like a party," Debbie explained.

Fiona walked over and placed a hand on Carl and Debbie's shoulder, getting down to their eye level. "Hey, sometimes life throws a couple swings at you. But we're Gallaghers, okay? And there's two things that we're really good at; knowing how to get back up and knowing how to party."

Debbie and Carl grinned and Fiona and Tessa smiled to herself at Fiona's ability to get the kids to cheer back up.

"So you get the tape, start hanging up that banner," she instructed Debbie. "And you go get Kev and V," she told Carl.

"Sheila and Tessa, start taking the food back out and I'll get Lip." She disappeared upstairs and Tessa turned to Sheila who had a huge grin on her face.

Ten minutes later everything was set up and V had put candles on Lip's ice cream cake. Tessa had to admit that she felt a little weird being there since it was a party for Lip and they were on strange terms, but she knew Debbie wouldn't let her leave if she tried. Instead she tried sticking close to V and catching up with her.

Fiona hollered downstairs that they were coming down. Everyone turned the lights off and Kev lit the candles while V held the cake.

"Walk forward," Fiona instructed Lip as she held her hands over his face. They did this until they got into the living room and Fiona gave them the okay.

They turned on the lights and everyone yelled surprise. Debbie and Carl blew some streamers into the air and everyone smiled. V put a gold sparkly hat on Lip and everyone hugged him, congratulating him on getting his diploma.

Tessa remembered something and snuck outside to her car. She grabbed a small bag she had forgotten about that she had stashed in her trunk. She had gotten it a while ago but had been confident that Lip was going to graduate.

She turned and went back inside only to run into Debbie on the porch. She frowned at Tessa. "Were you leaving?" she asked.

Tessa chuckled and shook her head. "No," she said as she ushered Debbie back inside where it was warm. "I was just getting something."

When she returned V was showing Fiona a picture of her ultrasound and Tessa grinned. She was happy for the two, knowing that they had been trying for a long time. She handed the bag to Fiona and shrugged.

"It's not wrapped and it's probably more for you than Lip, but I thought you'd appreciate it."

At hearing his name, Lip walked over and rested an arm on Tessa's shoulder.

Fiona opened the bag and pulled out a frame for Lip's diploma. She grinned at Tessa. "Thank you!" She said, hugging Tessa and pulling her away from Lip.

"I got it a while ago," she confessed. "Because let's face it. Lip probably had his folded up as small as possible in his pocket, right?" She raised an eyebrow and looked at Lip who merely grinned.

Fiona rolled her eyes, not even surprised at how well Tessa knew Lip at this point.

Tessa made her way back over to V and gave her another hug. "So what do you think it's going to be?" She asked.

V laughed and shrugged. "Not sure at this point."

"Yeah but, what do you _feel_ when you think about it. Use that intuition shit," Tessa said with a laugh.

"I'm kinda thinking girl," V confessed.

Tessa grinned and nodded. "Awesome. I just heard Kev tell Fiona the names and I love the name Amy."

Ian finally arrived and he engulfed his older brother in a hug. The two made their way into the kitchen and Tessa saw Ian give Lip a joint. She noticed Debbie go upstairs and Carl leave through the back door. Fiona disappeared upstairs, likely looking for Debbie. Tessa sighed. Why was everyone disappearing?

She grabbed a beer off the table and began to sip from it, hoping the smell of alcohol would keep Lip away from her for a little bit longer. She still didn't know what they were going to talk about. Hell, maybe he had forgotten all about his request that morning, although she doubted it.

Fiona came back downstairs and Tessa tossed her a worried look. "She okay?" She asked.

She sighed and sat down next to Tessa on the couch. "Worried about Frank," she said, reaching over and grabbing Tessa's beer from her hand.

Tessa pursed her lips and nodded. Debbie was too young to see how awful Frank was. To her, he was just her dad and she was concerned about him. Nothing her older siblings told her would ever change her mind.

"So what's going on with you and Lip?" Fiona asked, changing the subject.

Tessa shrugged. "I don't know. He's going off to college and I would never put him in a committed relationship while he's away." Tessa glanced into the kitchen where she saw Ian and Lip laughing and passing the joint back and forth.

Fiona hummed in response, not quite sure what to say. She knew that Tessa was good for Lip but she also knew how badly her brother had hurt her friend. She was stuck in an awful place. "So you two are going to just stay friends?"

Tessa scoffed. "Were we ever really friends?" She asked, more to herself than Fiona.

"True," she replied before taking a sip of her stolen beer.

Tessa helped clean up once everyone had settled down. Lip had disappeared upstairs with Ian and Debbie had never come back down. Sheila had helped put the food away before she had gone home. V, Fiona and Tessa were walking in and out of the living room. They collected the trash and beer bottles and Kev took the trash bags outside once they were full.

"Think it's rude if I leave without saying goodbye to Lip?" Tessa questioned, scrunching up her nose at the idea of having to talk to Lip. She was tired and didn't feel like getting cornered into a conversation she didn't want to have.

V and Fiona laughed at her and Kev rolled his eyes. "Uh, yeah," he said.

Tessa flipped him off before she went upstairs to find Lip. She found him hanging out with Ian in the room the two had once shared.

"Didn't really get to see you, did I?" Ian asked. Tessa took a seat next to Ian on his bed and rested her head on his shoulder. The joint they had shared was gone but at least Lip looked a little better and Ian looked more relaxed than he had been since the wedding fiasco she had heard about.

"Lucky you," Lip joked.

Tessa flipped him off and threw a pillow at his head. "Sloppy Joes, greasy burgers, fried chicken," she began listing off foods to Lip while glaring at him.

He groaned. "Cut it out!"

Ian laughed and covered Tessa's mouth with his hand. "Enough you two," he said. "Can't we just enjoy tonight?"

Tessa raised an eyebrow at Ian after she lifted her head from his shoulder. "What's got you all Kumbaya?" She asked.

He shrugged and looked down at his fingernails and began picking at some dirt. "It's just a request," he said.

Tessa looked at Lip who shrugged in response, clearly not baffled by Ian's odd behavior.

"Okay," she said slowly. "Well I just came up to say goodbye. I'll see you two losers around." She kissed Ian on the cheek and engulfed him in a hug.

She walked by Lip who was sitting on the floor and she ruffled his hair. "Congrats, ass-hat," she said with a grin.

She descended the stairs and said her goodbyes to Kev, V and Fiona. Kev and V were about to head out as well but they left through the back door while Tessa left through the front.

Tessa got to the sidewalk before she heard the door open and close.

"Tessa, wait up!" Lip yelled.

She turned and raised an eyebrow at him. She stopped moving but leaned against her car, arms folded across her chest.

He stopped in front of her and took a moment to catch his breath.

"Yeah?" She asked, egging him on. She was tired and wanted to go home.

"I uh, just wanted to say thanks."

Tessa scrunched up her brow in confusion. She hadn't done anything out of the ordinary lately. "For what?"

He shrugged. "For a lot, I guess."

Tessa didn't say anything, wondering if he would continue.

"And I know you don't want to talk about us at all, but I do want you to know that I want to be with you," he said, looking into her eyes.

She felt her suspicious wall crumble and offered him a small smile. "Thanks," she said softly.

Tessa reached forward and embraced Lip in a hug. She buried her face in his chest and she felt him hold onto her just as tightly. If things could be as simple as they were in that moment, then Tessa would have been fine with whatever came her way. But she knew that they weren't. She knew that once she released Lip from the embrace he would still be leaving for college and she still wouldn't trust him around other girls. She wanted to, but her head just wouldn't let her.

Finally the two pulled away from one another and they smiled.

"I'll see you around," Tessa said, puling out of his grasp and walking around her car. She opened the driver's side door and waved goodbye to Lip, who returned her wave.

He stuffed his hands in his pockets and watched her drive away, wondering about everything that had yet to happen.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Lip wasn't sure where he was going until he found himself knocking on her door. He stood there for a moment, looking down at his feet. He didn't even know if she was home. Maybe she was working. He should have called before he just came over. But he hadn't exactly been thinking. He had just let his feet carry him after he had gotten that envelope in the mail.

A moment later the door opened and Tessa gave Lip a confused look. "Everything okay?" she asked.

Lip smiled and nodded. "Do you mind if I come in for a minute?"

Tessa glanced into her apartment before she looked back at Lip. Hesitantly, she stepped aside and let him walk in. She closed her door behind him and looked over at her ex.

"What's going on?" She asked. Now Tessa was growing a little nervous. She had no idea what Lip was visiting her for.

"I uh, I got into M.I.T.," Lip said. "I got the official acceptance letter this morning."

A smile formed across her face and she quickly hugged Lip. "That's great," she said, pulling away from him.

He didn't say anything and Tessa opened her mouth to fill the silence. "Are you going?"

"I don't know," he answered. "I think so but I'm not sure. A lot can happen between now and fall semester." He shrugged and looked at her.

"So why come here?" She asked.

Again, Lip responded with a shrug. "I just felt myself walking and eventually I made it here."

She raised her eyebrows. "You walked all the way here?" She asked. It was a pretty far walk, especially if it was cold out like it was today.

Lip nodded. "I just wanted you to be the first person I told."

"Well, I'm really happy for you Lip." Tessa was honestly happy for him. He deserved to get a fantastic education and M.I.T. could provide that for him. There were so many 'what ifs' but she didn't bring any of them up, not wanting to ruin the moment.

There was a silence between the two and finally Lip began to walk towards the door. "I guess I should head home. But…" he trailed off and opened her door, but turned to look at her again. "Promise that you won't be a stranger between now and when I leave for college, yeah?"

She smiled and nodded her head. "Promise."

Lip smiled and closed the door; unsure as to why he had felt the need to tell Tessa he was moving so far away from her.

Tessa waited a moment before she locked the door behind Lip. That whole thing had been a little strange but she was happy for Lip. He deserved it. Realization hit her as to what she had been doing before Lip interrupted her and she rushed down the hallway and into the bathroom.

She picked up the stick and stared at the smiley face staring back at her. It was mocking her. "Fuck," she swore. Tessa tossed the positive pregnancy test into the trash, making it join two other positive tests.

 _A:N/ PERMANENT WOUND FINALE! I know my final scene was a little cliché, but I had been struggling for how to end things and this just sort of happened when I was bouncing ideas off of Kayla. Don't worry as I have this whole pregnancy thing completely planned out. Is she actually pregnant or is it a scare? You will have to see in the sequel, Everlasting Scars, coming this April! I will post something here to let you guys know when the first chapter is up (if you don't have an author alert for me). What did you guys think?! PLEASE give me your thoughts as it could help me write more ES chapters quickly and possibly move the premiere date up. Everlasting Scars is starting with season four and will definitely have season five in it as well. I'm currently not sure about season six. Final thoughts?_


	33. Everlasting Scars

_As promised, here is the official announcement to let you all know that the first chapter of Everlasting Scars has been posted. Enjoy!_


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